Fight or Flight
by hugglesbunny
Summary: AU St. Noventa's Academy has a reputation for turning out elite military students, but what happens when the fate of the nation rests on five cadets... 1x2, 3x4, 5xsomeone
1. Nature Appreciation Week

Disclaimer- I'm pretty sure we all know what goes here, but just in case (takes a deep breath) thegundamwingboysarenotmypropertytheybelongtowhoevertheybelongto. Iamusingthemformysickpurposesbutwillprobablygivethembackwheni'mdonewiththem. (Now that that's out of the way…)

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore

Fight or Flight

Chapter One – Nature Appreciation Week

"Kushrenada is a neo-nazi, slave driver." Duo's face was bright red and he was slightly out of breath.

"You shouldn't speak ill of those older and wiser than you." Wufei's voice reeked of disapproval, though Duo didn't care enough to turn around and see.

Trowa looked at Duo then glanced behind him at Wufei. "_Older_ and wiser? My 5 year old cousin is wiser."

Duo turned around to sneer at Trowa, then quickly looked back as he almost tripped. "Yeah, well we can't all be blessed with beauty _and_ brains."

"Beauty?" Heero turned briefly to Duo a skeptical look.

"Yuy, you wouldn't know beauty if I bit you in the ass."

Quatre snorted and even Trowa looked like he was hiding a laugh.

"I have told you eight million times, Maxwell. I will leave you out here and tell Kushrenada you went M.I.A. Now shut up and _march_."

Quatre sped up and nudged Duo lightly, smiling and trying to put the boy in a better mood. "C'mon, just be glad we got out of the city, and school. We had a whole week to relax."

"Yeah, a whole week to get eaten by insects and eat crappy trail rations. Yay."

"Maxwell. If you do not stop this needless bitching, I am going to cut off the braid and use it as a gag."

"Ooo… Kinky. I didn't know you swung that way 'Fei."

Heero shook his head and tuned out the bickering; readjusting the backpack he was carrying and trying to ease the weight on his aching shoulders seemed more important than yet another argument between the American and Chinese boys. They had been arguing for the last week, ever since they had left their school and headed for the wilderness. All the groups at St. Noventa's Academy took turns proving their survival skills. The five boys had hiked several miles into the forest and had to set up a camp and provide for themselves for the last week. They were allowed minimal equipment and even less rations, and Duo had been complaining about the less than satisfactory fare nonstop.

He sighed internally and looked up to check the position of the sun. They had been hiking back from their campsite for the last day and he hoped to make the pick-up point by mid-afternoon. A school vehicle would be waiting for them, and from there it was roughly a two hour drive back to the school. If all went well, he would be in his own bunk by nightfall.

o0o0o0o

"Oh, thank God!" Duo threw his pack in the back of the waiting Jeep and collapsed in the back seat with a loud sigh. The others followed suit and soon they were flying down the small dirt road toward civilization.

Quatre sat in the front seat talking animatedly at Heero, who would grunt every once in awhile to show he was still paying attention. Wufei and Trowa were both asleep and Duo was starting to yawn. "Where are we?"

Quatre glanced around, then checked the map perched on his knee. "We should be coming into Redenville in five minutes or so, then it's another twenty miles to the Academy."

"DSL connection, here I come." Duo yawned once more, then raised his shirt to scratch idly at the black vest he wore underneath. "I hate these vests. I don't mind the weight anymore, but they're itchy as hell."

"I know. You know it's good for training, though."

"Yeah."

Each boy wore a vest that was, for all purposes, Kevlar with lead weights evenly distributed around it. The boys at St. Noventa's worked, trained and studied wearing the vests. The only time it was safe to take them off was in their barracks when they were asleep, and even then they had to be ready at a moment's notice. The punishment for being caught without it was harsh; more weight was added and they were assigned an instructor to help for a month's time. The last boy had washed out after three day's as the archery instructor's moving target. Even Duo knew better then to take the vest off while they were off campus. They never knew when Kushrenada or Merquise would pop up for a surprise inspection.

Heero ignored the discussion, his eyes fixed on the road. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't figure out what. The Jeep was in good working order, they had completed all training objectives in the past week and, despite various threats otherwise, all his teammates had returned safe and sound. He glanced over at Quatre, who was shifting uncomfortably in his seat and glancing around uneasily. _He knows something's wrong too. What is it though?_ It was Duo who inadvertently answered the question. He leaned in between the two front seats and glanced at the clock. "We got lucky. The freeway's usually packed at this hour." Out of the corner of his eye, Heero saw Quatre jump slightly, and he realized that was the problem. The freeway should have been wall to wall traffic, especially at 5:45 on a Friday. Instead, they had yet to see another vehicle in either direction. The silence suddenly became unbearable and he flipped on the radio, but nothing came out. He changed it several times trying to find a news channel, but he was met with a quiet static on every station. He turned off the radio with a muttered curse and glanced over at Quatre. The blonde had a thoughtful look on his face, and Heero could see the thousands of possibilities running through his mind.

After several moments, Quatre shrugged. "They could be fixing the freeway. There could be an accident ahead. I mean, shit, there could have been an emergency lockdown in the city. I suggest you step on it Heero. I don't think there's a cop out here to pull you over either way."

Heero nodded and floored the Jeep, sending them flying forward. The lurch woke Wufei and Trowa, who were a bit quicker to realize the problem. Trowa glanced out the window looking supremely disoriented and Wufei merely raised an eyebrow. "Where are all the cars? And why is Yuy breaking traffic laws?"

Quatre turned to face the three boys in the back. "We don't know. Something is definitely not right, though."

The Jeep sped through Redenville, blowing down the deserted main street in record time. They saw no sign of life, only closed shops and buildings without lights. The closer they got to San Silvia, and the academy, the more worried they became. There was still no other life visible, but as soon as the city entered their sight, large plumes of smoke clouded the sky. The outskirts of the city were in ruins. Buildings were half destroyed, and scorch marks showed where plasma cannons and laser rifles had been fired. Cars lay abandoned in the middle of the street, and everything looked as if life had suddenly just stopped. The only signs of life came from Fortress Barge, nestled in the larger city barely visible to the east. The sight was not particularly reassuring.

"Why would anyone attack the city?" For once, Duo's voice was quiet, barely a whisper even in the still city.

Heero led them through the wreckage, trying to find answers to the hundreds of questions in his mind. "I don't know, but we need to find out." He pointed east, and they all turned to look at Fortress Barge. "Odds are that's where they're holed up."

"Who's they?"

Heero glanced at Duo sharply, then his shoulders sagged and he sighed. "I don't know Maxwell. But it is the most defensible position in this area. If I stormed this city, that is where I would set up command. C'mon. We need to make it to the Academy."

A/N:: hopefully some of you will let me know if you love it, hate it, think it should be buried in my backyard and never resurrected, I have quite a bit of it written already, but figured I'd see if anyone liked it (hint hint)… And I am debating whether to put in 3x4, and/or 5xS so drop me a line and let me know what you think.


	2. Someplace to Call Home

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore, this chapter gets a bit technical but hey, it can't all be fun and games can it?

This chapter is dedicated to Kaeru Shisho, my first, last and so far only review.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Two – Someplace to Call Home

Things were no better at the Academy than they had been in the city itself. The front doors stood charred and destroyed and there was no sign of life anywhere in the large building. The small group made its way through the wreckage silently, trying to find some clue as to what had happened.

"Where is everybody?"

No one was sure who had finally voiced the question, but they all had been thinking it. Throughout the wreckage there was not a single body. 600 cadets, along with a military staff of 200, and a wait staff of nearly 500 had simply vanished.

Duo wandered away from the group, heading out the charred doors and up the long winding drive to the main street. When he returned, Heero was sifting through the remains of Kushrenada's office, while the other boys stood silently in the main hall.

"Army transports." They all looked up at the sound of Duo's voice. "The tire tracks outside; two dualies in the back, single tires in the front, the right spacing for military transport trucks. They head toward the main highway."

Quatre looked thoughtful. "There's no real sign of struggle. Whoever attacked took them by surprise. The building was destroyed after everyone had been evacuated. No one could have survived that attack. There would be bodies. It's the same with the city. For all the structural damage there was no blood anywhere."

"It must not be an all out war." Wufei sounded disgusted. "They snuck up on them. They will try and recruit those they captured. Whoever took them could build a child army with the cadets alone."

"The question is, what are we going to do about it?" Everyone looked at Trowa, then Duo shrugged.

"We find out who did this, kick some ass, blow some shit up and get our people back." The words were said in a very flippant tone, but they knew he was dead serious.

"We will need a base. Somewhere to hide until we figure out what happened and what we're going to do." As always, Trowa made sense.

Heero was the first to answer. "Not here. They cleared it out. Whoever did this may be keeping an eye on it."

The other boys nodded, but looked lost. The Academy was the only home they had had for the last couple of years. Finally, Duo broke the silence. "There's an old factory, throughout that little crop of trees on North Point. Plenty of room, and no one's been out there in years. It has a nearby stream and woods for cover but it's only a five minute drive from town." He looked to Heero, who looked thoughtful.

"It's the best we've got for now. Let's go." They piled back in to the Jeep and turned north, keeping an eye out for any vehicles, friend or foe. They reached it uneventfully and parked the Jeep under a large outcropping of rock. Duo led the way to the huge building, throwing open a small side door with a flourish, and waving his teammates in behind him.

The entire first floor was empty, marred only by the occasional brick building support, and dimly lit by the weak sunlight struggling through the dirty windows. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, supporting Duo's claim that no one had been there in years. They followed him up a winding staircase to the second level, which was partitioned into offices, workrooms and what appeared to be a cafeteria, listening as he pointed out the different rooms. Heero gave everything one final cursory glance then nodded.

"We need to check it over. Split up, scout out exits, security hazards, all that. Take twenty and meet back by the entrance." The boys all split, inspecting the building from top to bottom before convening at the large double doors that served as the main entrance to the building. Heero was standing passively as they all wandered up, and Duo got the impression that he had already assessed everything during the brief walk through. "02, report." Duo stopped mid-thought and snapped to attention, saluting automatically.

"Windows are durable, not up to a plasma cannon or laser rifle, but thick enough to stop ordinary bullets and projectiles. Roof is in poor condition, but the outside of the building is flat. Not enough structure damage to provide footholds for scaling it manually, but we would be vulnerable to an air attack. The one exit onto the roof is jammed shut, but would require little work to fix. The first story is good for storage, the second story ideal for barracks. We can booby trap all but our living quarters, and the cafeteria would allow us to cook provisions."

"03?"

"Second story has one fire escape on the south side. We'd have to make sure it wasn't accessible to anyone on the outside, but it would be a good emergency exit. The front doors are reinforced steel, and the locking mechanism is in surprisingly good condition. I'd need a few parts to make it perfect, but it can be done. The entire south side faces the city, giving us a good vantage point, and the north side faces the forest. It would be impossible for them to sneak up on us from there. The west has the river, which could be forded, but we would see it. The east side is the problem. There are fewer windows, and there's nothing but empty fields between us and the barricaded part of the city. We would need more surveillance."

Heero paused, seeming to run over the list once more mentally before looking at Wufei. "Anything to add, 05?"

"The equipment on the second story is primitive, but in decent working condition. I can restore power to the main building, but there is really no reason for our enemy to leave power supplied to the city for long. In the back, there is a generator, which could come in handy in an emergency. The trees around us sufficiently shield most of the building from aerial surveillance, and cover the incoming road. We would need to be careful around the river, and as Trowa said, there are open fields to the east. The front doors are large enough to allow vehicles through, and I'm sure I could sufficiently booby trap the roof. The foyer archway provides a sniper shot on both the front doors and the side door, although you would be vulnerable to a well placed shot through one of the back windows."

They all looked at Quatre, who had been running over everything the boys had said. "Well, 04? What do you think?"

Quatre pursed his lips and looked around once more, slowly taking everything in. "As far as defendable positions go, we could be a lot worse off. The windows could prove a problem, since we know the enemy is using plasma cannons and laser rifles. We would need to make sure to never give them a reason to bring them here. The roof is also a problem. The booby traps would have to eliminate the intruders, without causing any further damage to the roof itself, and I know how much you like explosives, Wufei."

Wufei smiled, more a baring of his teeth than a gesture of humor, and nodded his understanding. "I can be accommodating."

"There are a few kinks to work out, but I think for now this should be headquarters. Whatever they were making here, they wanted to make sure no one could get in and that works in our favor."

Duo slapped him on the back and grinned. "Well, Q's the tactical expert. Let's start decorating."

Heero held up a hand in warning, giving Duo a piercing glare. "Not so fast, Maxwell. We need to find out what's going on, but first we need supplies. We have shelter and access to water but we need food, clothes and weapons. That's going to require a trip to town. A _subtle_ trip to town. Then we can gather information. Quatre, you're in charge of planning any movement outside this building from this point on. I'm sure Kushrenada trained you well."

Quatre decided not to question how Heero knew he had been studying strategy and tactics personally with Kushrenada, instead just nodding and thinking it over. "First things first, we need cars to gather supplies. Heero, you're in charge of communication and anything necessary for surveillance. Trowa and Wufei can get food and clothing, along with weapons."

Duo looked at him questioningly. "What are you and I doing?"

"We are going car shopping." A huge grin spread over Duo's face causing Quatre to roll his eyes. "Now, we should avoid taking the Jeep. It has the school crest on it, and we want our enemy to have as little information about us as possible. We'll take it as far as the edge of town and see how dangerous this will be, then we'll get other cars and get our supplies. Any questions?" When they all shook their heads, he raised his eyebrows and smiled sunnily. "Alright. Let's move out." As they followed him out of the building Duo made a 'tsking' noise and grabbed the keys from Heero, who glared at him.

"Who's the driving expert here, huh Yuy?" Heero looked like he wanted to argue but Quatre gave a subtle shake of his head and Heero sighed and climbed into the backseat with Wufei and Trowa. They were silent as the Jeep bounced down the dirt road into town and parked along the edge of the trees. Duo dug through his pack and found the binoculars he had packed for their camping trip, before sitting on top of the vehicle and glancing around.

"It looks deserted. No vehicles, no human movement. Even the smoke has settled."

"Just because it looks empty doesn't mean it is. Be careful on your missions. Now, we need cars. Duo?"

Four pairs of eyes focused on Duo, who froze and glanced around warily.

"C'mon. I can't be the only one here who knows how to hotwire a car." When no one spoke, he sighed loudly. "One for Trowa and Wufei and one for our fearless leader? We can go find one ourselves, then I can teach you how to do it." Quatre thought it over for a moment then nodded, causing Duo to smile as he jumped off the roof, landing silently on the ground. "Gentlemen, prepare to be wowed."

Sure enough, within five minutes Duo had two cars idling patiently in front of them. "Now, I wouldn't recommend disconnecting the wires unless you want to be stuck God knows where, but I made sure they all had decent gas mileage and near full tanks. These'll work until I have a better selection." Quatre nodded his approval then turned to the other three.

"Remember. This trip out, get only the necessities. Enough food to last us a week, weapons for each of us, basic communication, nothing fancy. Get in, get out, get back safely. Once we have more of a grasp on what's going on we can gather the remaining tools." The boys nodded in agreement. "Remember to keep an eye out for people. Do not make contact unless you are positive they are friendly. Meet back at the base tonight at 2300.Watches synchronized?" Again four heads nodded and Quatre smiled grimly. "Alright boys. Let's move out."

o0o0o0o

A/N:: I know this chapter was a bit yawn-worthy, but for once I wanted to tell a story right, not just skip through it. I'll post the next chapter soon to make up for it. Also, if anyone wants to beta for me, it would be greatly appreciated. Spell check has a dubious grasp on grammar, in my opinion.


	3. Shop Til You Drop

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore. This chapter jumps around a bit, so imagine this ::o0o0o0o:: means different people, little later on. Kind of like that bat icon that swirls on the screen in Batman to show scene and time changes. Everybody follow that? Good.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Three – Shop 'til you Drop

o0o0o0o

"Be careful you two."

"Aww, Yuy… I didn't know you cared. You take care of yourself, sweetheart, and I'll have dinner on the table when you get home." Duo fluttered his eyelashes and gave Heero an adoring look.

"Baka."

Heero opened the door to the white Honda Civic and threw his gear in, glaring at Wufei, daring him to object. Wufei was shaking his head and looking like he wanted to argue, but wouldn't. As he opened the passenger door to the other vehicle, Trowa hid a smile as he heard him mutter, "I _cannot_ believe I'm going to war in a _Prius_."

o0o0o0o0o

"Whoever these guys were, they were thorough."

Quatre was leaning against a brick building scanning through the latest newspaper for some clue of what had happened while Duo wandered the street looking for a car for the two of them. He looked up from the paper and gave Duo a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"They took every set of car keys. None of these cars have them, even the ones that look like they were thrown into park in the middle of the street." Duo finally paused by a black Corvette that had apparently just exited the car wash. He looked it over critically before opening the door and sliding into the driver's seat. "C'mon Q. Hotwiring 101 is about to begin."

o0o0o0o0o

"You have got to be kidding me…" The little red Prius had deposited Wufei and Trowa in front of a small beige building with a six foot tall Smokey the Bear statue guarding the door. Wufei was staring dubiously at the bear, which was urging him to 'have a beary good day'. "This is where we're getting supplies?"

"It's an old surplus store. Sorry I don't feel like going to the mall." Trowa pulled the door open and waited for Wufei to walk in before following him. The store was packed floor to ceiling with old army gear; knives, guns, fatigues, ropes, tents and things Wufei had only seen in documentaries on the History channel. Unbeknownst to him, a small smile had spread across his face, causing Trowa to grin smugly. "Grab a shopping cart, Chang."

o0o0o0o0o

"Oh, Duo! I want that one!" Quatre's face was pressed up against the window of the Corvette as they went flying down a dimly lit back road. 'That one' was a light grey Dodge Charger that was parked in a driveway they had just blown past. Duo chuckled softly and shook his head at the blonde's excitement.

"Hold your horses. First things first." The car slid to a halt in front of a small truck stop underneath the freeway. A neon sign advertising a 24-hour diner was still flickering off and on, but like the rest of the town, the place was deserted. Quatre gave Duo a skeptical look, and Duo tried to look hurt. "Oh ye of little faith. You see those auto transports over there?" He pointed and Quatre squinted into the fading light, then nodded. "You, my friend, are about to learn how to drive a semi." Comprehension dawned on Quatre and he smiled.

"Cool."

o0o0o0o0o

Heero walked down the packed aisles of the largest Radio Shack he could find, pushing a shopping cart and whistling a slow tune. Every once in awhile he would pause to throw items in his cart, then continue on his slow trek through the store. Reaching the end of the hardware section, he placed his now full shopping cart in the front near the other six carts and grabbed an empty one before heading to the aisle containing video equipment. He gave it a cursory glance then reached out an arm and walked down the aisle slowly, knocking every piece of technology into his cart as he went.

o0o0o0o0o

"Why on earth would anyone need a store that sells bulletproof vests in the middle of suburbia?"

"We need a store that sells bulletproof vests in the middle of suburbia."

"You know Barton, that is a very good point," and Wufei grabbed five of them and threw them in his cart, on top of the night vision goggles and infrared heat sensors. He paused at a shelf labeled 'hand grenades' and inspected several before sweeping the whole lot into his cart. "Surplus R' Us may be my new favorite store."

"Finish up with this aisle. I'm going to go find the gun cases."

"Back right corner. I saw them when I used the bathroom." As Trowa headed toward the back of the store he heard Wufei call, "I get dibs on the black Beretta 92s on the bottom shelf!"

o0o00o0o

The two trucks roared down the street, Quatre grinning like a maniac and Duo shouting driving instructions over the CB radio. They had stopped and grabbed the grey Magnum that Quatre had spotted, finally locating the keys hanging on a hook in the garage, and had stopped periodically to gather four more cars. They pulled up in front of the dealership parking lot and Duo heaved a sigh of relief. "You better hope when we save the world that they'll ignore these little driving transgressions, otherwise you won't be getting your license for a long time…"

"It's not like there was a baby in that stroller."

o0o0o0o0o

An axe chopped through the air, slicing through the lock under the cell phone kiosk. Heero eyed the axe critically, then shrugged and threw it in his shopping cart before turning his attention to the phones under the counter. He dug through the piles of boxes, looking over his options before his gaze finally settled on the army issue Nextels. "Operates on emergency frequency, huh? Sounds good." He rummaged through the boxes before emerging with four phones. He frowned and searched through the discarded boxes on the ground, finally picking up a box with a picture of a bright pink phone on the front. "GI Jane issue? Eh, Maxwell'll survive," and he threw the phone across the room where it landed on top of the mountain of stuff already in his ninth shopping cart, followed by the four black and gray phones.

o0o0o0o0o

After raiding the rather extensive weapons racks, and a brief but heated debate over what size field helmet Duo would need (Wufei swore that Duo's head was at least an XXL, while Trowa maintained that it would be physically impossible, as Duo would look like a bobble head) they had loaded up the field equipment, weapons and mass amount of camouflage clothing into the back of the car and headed toward the nearest supermarket. Trowa parked the car near the massive front entrance and got out, grabbing a shopping cart as Wufei ran over the shopping list they had compiled on the drive over. "Barton, why did you write down trail mix?"

"It provides sustenance, will not spoil and requires no preparation."

"I know, but have you checked our camping backpacks? When we left the Academy we had enough trail mix to feed a third world country." He followed Trowa through the gate and stopped to read a large sign to his left. "It says here they do free home delivery on orders over $250."

"I highly doubt that offer is valid during a national emergency."

o0o0o0o0o

Duo and Quatre had broken into the main office of the dealership and finally found the metal cabinet containing all the keys. Duo had looked over the vehicle list and finally selected thirteen sets of keys before dragging Quatre away from the espresso machine in the corner.

"What've you got?"

"Well, we already got the cars taken care of. Here, we'll grab five pick-ups, five SUVs, a service truck, a tow truck, and guess whose Humvee is in the service dock?"

"We are not stealing Kushrenada's Humvee!"

"Who's stealing? I have the keys." Sure enough, two black keys hung from an engraved keychain, jingling cheerfully in front of Quatre's face.

"Hey, that kind of looks like Lieutenant Merquise…"

o0o0o0o0o

"Do you prefer oatmeal raisin or peanut butter?" Wufei held up both boxes for Trowa's inspection and Trowa stared at them both for a second before shrugging.

"Throw 'em both in. Do you know where they keep the dried fruit?"

"In the dried fruit section? I'm a military cadet, Barton, not a house wife." He paused to grab several cases of water and put them on the industrial size cart they had found in the back, then glanced back at Trowa. "You'd think a place this big would have a map, or GPS on their carts or something."

"Yeah. As long as we stay on the main path, we should be good. I don't think even Quatre could plan a search and rescue for a Costco."

o0o0o0o0o

Heero stood in the Radio Shack parking lot staring from the little Honda Civic, to the eleven packed shopping carts beside it, then back to the Civic. Even with all the technology he had just – er, liberated cough -- from Radio Shack, he was pretty sure he still couldn't defy the basic laws of physics. He was going to need a bigger car.

o0o0o0o0o

The large tow truck made a steady beeping sound as Duo backed it onto the transport truck. Quatre stood in the bed of the pick-up behind him, waving his arms in the direction that Duo needed to turn.

"Right or left?"

"Right."

"Whose right?"

"Your call."

"Quatre!"

"You've got about ten feet…" The truck lurched as the wheels locked into place on the trailer and Duo climbed out the window and glared at Quatre.

"That is why I loaded the cars."

o0o0o0o0o

"You go get the batteries and I'll find where they keep the medical supplies. Meet me back at the Cheese Tower in ten." The boys split off, Wufei to the home supplies section and Trowa to the back pharmacy area. Ten minutes later Trowa was waiting patiently by the 'Leaning Tower of Cheese-a', having raided their supplies of bandages, disinfectants and pain killers. Wufei came staggering back carefully balancing a mountain of stuff in his arms. He dropped it all in the cart and Trowa watched as motion-sensor patio lights, a set of butcher knives and various hammers, wrenches and tool kits piled up. He sorted through it briefly then glared at Wufei. "Where are the batteries?"

Wufei stared at him blankly for a moment then swore and stalked back in the direction he had come from.

o0o0o0o0o

"Let's see, red wire, black wire, strip the end to the base."Heero lay on his back underneath the dash of a large grey Suburban that was parked two spots down from his Civic. He had studied the Civic's wires as much as he could without completely undoing them and was now attempting to duplicate the process. It was unthinkable that he would fail to do something that Duo had no problem with, and he was determined not to leave any of his supplies behind. However, every time he touched the two wires together, nothing happened. He frowned and grabbed a flashlight, returning to the Civic for another look at Duo's handiwork. He stared at it then walked back to the Suburban, shining the light under the dash once more. He grabbed another red wire tucked further back and stripped that one, touching it to the first red wire. The engine cranked once, then roared to life. He twisted the wires and set them out of the way, then stepped back to admire his work. For the first time in weeks, a true smile graced his face, and he hummed softly to himself as he loaded the SUV.

o0o0o0o0o

Duo and Quatre were finally homebound, both auto transports loaded and secured, and both boys tired but satisfied. Duo had made a final pit stop for five sport bikes, finally managed to chain them down in between the cars, and was now singing along to the country cd that had been in the truck's cd player. Suddenly the cb crackled and Quatre's voice sounded above him like God.

"Duo! You just ran that red light."

"Yeah? And I'm about to run this one." He stepped on the gas and smiled maniacally. "Who's going to stop me, Q?"

"And you talk shit about _my_ driving…"

o0o0o0o0o

"We have a problem."

Both boys were staring at the Prius. The car was already bursting at the seams, camouflage and weaponry threatening to spill out if they so much as cracked the back doors.

"We're going to have to get another car."

"Neither of us knows how to hotwire a car." Trowa began looking around the parking lot, then nudged Wufei, pointing at the pick-up parked on a display stand in front of the exit. "They have to have the keys to that somewhere."

They headed back into Costco before splitting up. Trowa began searching the associates desk at the front, while Wufei went directly to the locked manager's office he had noticed on their way out. He kicked the door in and looked around the room, his eyes finally settling on a small safe-style cabinet on the far wall.

He grabbed Trowa as he was heading back out to the front, dangling the keys in front of him. The truck's lights flashed when he hit the unlock button and he opened the driver's door and stuck the keys in the ignition. The truck roared to life and Trowa gave him a congratulatory slap on the back. Wufei climbed in the driver's seat and drove it off the stand before putting the tailgate down and throwing the groceries in the back.

"I found the keys, I get to drive it. You can keep the hippie car."

o0o0o0o

Heero was balanced precariously on a signal post at one of the busiest intersections in town tinkering with the video camera secured there. A laptop was balanced on one knee and he held a flashlight in his mouth. "C'mon baby." He twisted two wires together, then pulled a small transmitter out of his pocket and attached it to the wires. The laptop beeped twice and he glanced down, looking satisfied as a message appeared on the screen. He clicked on it and a window popped up, showing him exactly what the camera was seeing. He added one more transmitter to another wire and another window popped up, asking him if he wanted to search through the other cameras in the network. He closed the laptop with a decisive click and stowed it in his backpack before swinging down onto the pole and executing a perfect dismount.

o0o0o0o

Duo and Quatre were the first to arrive back at the make shift base. They immediately threw the main doors open and began unloading the cars, arranging them on the far side of the first story. The semis they parked on the west side of the building, well hidden under the trees. Duo began making dinner from the leftover camping rations while Quatre paced around the second story planning where everything would go. Duo had just put the finishing touches on their dinner, and Quatre had determined the main locations of the booby traps when headlights pierced through the darkness. Duo grabbed his binoculars and glanced out the window, then pulled Quatre downstairs. "The Prius is in front, but there are two trucks following him, and no sign of Heero's Honda."

"Well, if they're following the Prius they must have found new cars. The trucks would give them more storage capacity."

"True." They still watched warily as the vehicles parked in front of the factory. Trowa got out of the Prius, followed by Wufei and Heero, and Quatre and Duo heaved a collective sigh of relief. Duo gave Quatre a small shove toward the stairs. "Go check on dinner. I'll give them a tour of our new showroom."

Quatre grinned and headed upstairs as Duo put on his best Vanna White smile. The other three boys walked through the doors and stopped short in amazement. The previously empty first floor was now packed with five identical black, pick-up trucks, five SUVs, and a smaller car for each of them, along with the service truck and tow truck in the back corner.

"You guys want to see what we got you?" Three heads nodded in mute amazement, and Duo pointed at the five cars lined up closest to them. "The Mustang is Trowa's, the Chrysler 300 is Heero's and the Caddy is Wufei's. You three can switch amongst yourselves, but the Camaro is mine and the Charger is Quatre's."

Glancing over at the braided youth, Heero got the feeling he'd had a little too much fun collecting their vehicles. Duo had a smug grin on his face as he led them through the showroom, cheerfully explaining who got what, and the things he planned to do to the cars to make them even better. They stopped by the service trucks and Heero noticed a final vehicle tucked in the corner next to the Jeep. He stared at it for a moment then gave Duo an incredulous look. "Is that Kushrenada's Humvee?"

"Maybe…" Duo had the conscience to look slightly guilty, then quickly changed the subject. "So I'm assuming you figured out how to hotwire?"

Heero nodded. "The Honda didn't have enough room."

"How much shit did you guys get?"

Wufei glared at him. "Enough to survive, Maxwell."

"Relax, Wu-man. I'm just so proud." He wiped away a pretend tear and sniffled loudly. "My little boys, all grown up and stealing their first cars."

o0o0o0o0o


	4. Made Out Like a Bandit

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore,

Fight or Flighti

Chapter Four – Made Out Like a Bandit

o0o0o0o0o

Quatre stared in disbelief at the mountains of things that had been unloaded from the vehicles.

Between the five of them, every weapon had been put to use without a single argument over who got what. Quatre didn't even question how Wufei and Trowa had managed to get exactly what was necessary and not a piece more or less. They had been less discriminating in other areas. The Prius had been loaded with ammo, fatigues, flashlights, enough batteries to power a small nation and any other manner of equipment they had deemed necessary, while the pick-up was packed with bulk items of every kind.

Heero's contribution was just as carefully selected. He had army-issue phones ("PINK!? Yuy, emergency or not, I have a reputation to maintain!"), already set to operate on the emergency frequency, state of the art laptops for each of them, what looked like every LCD monitor the store had carried, and a wide array of surveillance material, motion detectors and booby trap items for base security.

Duo smirked as he watched Quatre try not to hyperventilate. "It looks like Costco threw up on our doorstep."

Trowa looked impressed. "How'd you know we went to Costco?"

"Where else would they sell granola bars by the pound?"

"I send you out for _basic_ supplies, and you need TWO more trucks to carry everything you got?" Quatre, it seemed, had finally found his voice.

Wufei bristled at Quatre's tone and gave him a disparaging look. "We got everything we thought was necessary to our immediate survival. You and Einstein over there got luxury cars."

"Hey!" Duo looked up from fiddling with the end of his braid and glared at Wufei. "We got you one too. Don't bitch."

"Enough, you two. We need to get this place somewhat secure before we do anything else. Heero? You know what you got, you're in charge of directing everyone."

Heero nodded and looked around at the boys, his eyes lingering on the slightly glazed look in Quatre's eyes and the frequent yawns Duo was trying to hide. "Chang, you're in charge of the roof. Barton, you should have the parts you need to fix the front doors. Do that, then mark out our living quarters on the second story and secure the remaining rooms. Leave the main office open for a command room. I'll set up video surveillance and wire it through. Winner, Maxwell, go take a nap." When the two looked like they would argue he cut them off. "Surveillance is not your area of expertise, and Barton and Chang slept on the ride back here. Regardless, we need to sleep in shifts. Be ready to guard once we're done."

Trowa and Wufei began sorting through the supplies, handing Duo and Quatre sleeping bags before setting aside everything necessary for their assignments. "If you guys are going to be working upstairs, we're sleeping in the back of the pick-up."

Trowa nodded absentmindedly and Wufei waved them away impatiently, so they arranged their bed as comfortably as possible and fell asleep to the sound of Trowa and Wufei moving around the base.

o0o0o0o0o

Duo and Quatre woke several hours after the sun had risen and groaned simultaneously, unable to believe it was only yesterday that they had returned, and unable to believe how stiff and sore they were. They dragged themselves out of their sleeping bags, sent Wufei and Trowa to bed and reported to Heero for instructions. He kept them busy for the rest of the daylight hours, then sent Quatre to prepare a meal for them while he went to wake Trowa and Wufei. The boys stumbled upstairs and joined the other three around a small table in the cafeteria, all five yawning over their dinner of sliced beef and steamed broccoli.

Heero was the first to set aside his plate, placing his laptop in its place. Duo groaned at the serious look on his face, as that look generally meant that he was going to have to work or think (and on truly horrible occasions, both), and he wasn't in the mood for either. Heero, in true Heero fashion, ignored Duo completely.

"We need a plan."

Trowa nodded his agreement. "We need information."

"What we _need_ is a fucking army."

Wufei glared at the braided boy. "Stop being counter-productive, Duo."

"No, Duo's right. We _do_ need an army." Quatre looked thoughtful. "We need to find out who was out on scout detail, and what happened to them. There should be a commanding officer, at least eight soldiers, plus the five female cadets out there somewhere. We need to find them." He fidgeted as the others stared at him. "What?"

"I forgot about the scout detail, and the female cadets," Heero admitted, and the other three nodded.

"How do you plan to find them, Q?"

"Heero can try and fix Kushrenada's computer. It should have records of both the scout detail and the cadet rotation. There shouldn't be anyone in the city, let alone at the Academy, but Wufei, you'll accompany him and provide cover. Duo, you and Trowa are the ones with a background in stealth. You and Trowa will infiltrate Barge and I'll play chauffeur for you guys."

"If me'n Trowa are sneaking into Barge, we should do it tonight, or wait until tomorrow night. Darkness makes everything easier."

Trowa nodded his agreement and added, "I think we should go tonight. It's like K used to say, every day hastens the unknown. Tonight work for you, Maxwell?"

"I dunno. I'll need to clear my schedule with my secretary…"

"Like you have anything better to do."

Quatre interrupted whatever retort Duo had cooked up and looked pointedly at Heero. "We have a couple hours until nightfall. You need sleep." He braced himself, prepared for an argument but Heero simply nodded and closed his laptop with a decisive click, handing it to Wufei.

"Monitor the street cameras. We need to know if they've started moving through the city."

Wufei nodded and followed him out of the cafeteria. He headed for the main office, now their surveillance command room, and watched silently as Heero made his way slowly downstairs and collapsed in the back of the truck, asleep before his head hit the pillow.

"We need to make sure he doesn't overextend himself." Wufei jumped slightly at the sound of Quatre's voice behind him. "He'll try and spare the rest of us."

Wufei nodded. "He knows he can't be collapsing during missions though. He'll listen to reason."

"I hope so. This _is_ Heero we're talking about."

Duo and Trowa had followed Quatre out the door and were loudly discussing infiltration strategy as they walked down stairs. Quatre watched them go before turning to Wufei.

"While they get their equipment we should get our bedrooms ready."

Wufei nodded, set the laptop to alert him if there was any movement and followed Quatre downstairs to grab the sleeping bags. The two worked diligently, finally getting their sleeping quarters ready.

o0o0o0o0o

A/N :: Thanks so much to all of you who have reviewed. It gives me a little perk when I check my email.


	5. In the Dark of Night

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore. Everything that looks like this – ((blah blah blah)), means they're using that military sign language to communicate.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Five – In the Dark of Night

o0o0o0o0o

Duo stared at the mountain of camouflage and sighed. "Tell me you got something in black."

Trowa threw him a small black pack, inside of which he found black pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, soft shoes, a head mask and gloves. The pack itself turned into a vest. Duo dressed quickly, admiring himself in one of the dirty windows. He stuffed his braid down the back of his shirt and secured the pack, digging through the pile of gear to find night vision goggles, a camera, and a small computer chip. When he started eying the grenades, Trowa slapped his hand away, saying, "Infiltration, not destruction!" Duo pouted, then busied himself with the vest, double checking that every strap was secured and made no noise and nothing was visible. He got to the phone and glared at the offending item, then turned to Quatre, who was standing next to Wufei looking sleepy.

"I need your phone."

"No you don't. Heero got you your own phone." Even Quatre couldn't keep the smile off his face as he pointed at the pink phone.

"Do you want me to get caught because some guard sees a Barbie phone floating through midair? Pink is highly impractical for this mission, Winner."

Trowa snickered and strapped his black phone to his side. He then began doing handstands around Duo, checking to see how everything held in place. Quatre watched him for several seconds before giving Duo a suspicious look. "I suppose. But I want it back when you're done."

"Yeah, sure, whatever…" He snatched it out of Quatre's grasp and replaced it with the pink phone.

Quatre turned to Wufei. "Let Heero sleep. We won't be back for quite a while, and you guys don't have nearly as far to go. He needs the rest." Wufei nodded and moved to the side as Duo headed toward the cars. The three boys looked on in mild interest as Duo slid under the bumper and started pulling apart the back end of a black Suburban, tracing wires and such and breaking them one by one. He looked at it for another moment and, apparently satisfied with his work, began to put everything back together.

"Duo?"

A hand waving impatiently from under the car was the only sign that he'd heard Quatre.

"What on earth are you doing?"

His head popped out from under the car momentarily, then disappeared back under. A moment later he slid out and dusted himself off. He took another moment to admire his work before addressing Quatre.

"Go get in the truck." He nodded toward the driver's side to emphasis his point and Quatre slid into the seat. "Start it." The engine roared to life and Quatre stuck his head out, awaiting further instructions. "Hit the brakes." Quatre did, and nothing happened. "Perfect."

Wufei looked suspicious as Duo headed back toward him. "Nothing happened, Maxwell."

"Yup."

"Why is that perfect? What did you do?"

"I disabled the brake lights, interior lights, all that stuff."

"Why."

"It's our drive-by vehicle. I think we should call it the Batmobile."

Wufei stared at the American. Trowa looked amused. Quatre just stuck his head out the window and yelled, "C'mon, we're wasting nighttime. Let's go!"

"Hold your horses, Winner! We need to christen the Batmobile!" Duo of course.

"The what?"

"The Batmobile."

"What in the fuck is the Batmobile?"

"You're sittin' in it."

"Oh for fuck's sake, Duo, _get in_."

Trowa flipped open his knife and grabbed Duo by the arm, pulling him in front of the SUV. He tapped it on both sides of the hood, said "I hereby dub thee Batmobile. Be faithful and true," and looked at Duo expectantly. When the braided boy just stared, Trowa raised his eyebrows. "Would you like to say any words?"

"Uhh, no."

"Alright then, get in the car."

Wufei went to open the front doors as Quatre started the engine. Duo and Trowa piled in the back of the SUV and as they moved out into the night, Wufei heard Quatre growl, "Fucking finally!"

Both Duo and Trowa napped on the thirty minute ride to Barge. Quatre used to silence to run over everything they knew, and what he could do about it. He soon was lost in thought.

He pulled off of the still-deserted freeway, making a left and heading for the far side of the impressive fortress. The Batmobile wound its way toward the far side of Fortress Barge slowly, favoring stealth over speed. With all the lights off, the vehicle was hardly noticeable in the pitch black night. Even the moon had obliged them, disappearing behind a thick bank of clouds while giving off the faintest light to see by. Quatre slowed enough to deposit two black-clad figures near the back wall before continuing slowly toward a large outcropping to hide. They double checked their secured weapons and equipment before Duo turned to Trowa.

((I'm taking the roofs.))

Trowa thought that over for a moment then replied, ((I'll watch their guard patterns on the ground.))

((Affirmative.))

Trowa leapt gracefully through the air, landing silently on the top of the smaller wall protecting the outer city. Duo followed him, scaling the wall with ease. They crouched there for a long moment, trying to see movement through the darkness. When they were satisfied that the area was deserted, Duo turned and signed, ((Cover me.)) Trowa nodded, watching as Duo dropped to the ground without a single sound to give away his presence. He vanished into the shadows, then returned a moment later, beckoning Trowa to follow him. They made their way through the city until they could see light from the center of the city. They ducked into the shadows for a final conference.

((I'll go for control room. You find offices.))

Trowa nodded and saluted mockingly before turning into the shadows once more. Duo found a trellis that ran along a low building and began to climb, glancing around warily for any sign of movement. He made it to the roof and began slipping across the top of the buildings silently. The invaders were unfamiliar with the layout of the city and no one had thought to place guards on the rooftop paths that ran through the whole city, much to his joy.

Stopping where the civilian area ended and the military installments began, he traced the paths of the guards as they circled through the compound. Two guards walked by and he silently counted to ten, watching the next pair cross under him, then leaping to land on the taller wall surrounding the military buildings. He misjudged the distance and landed too hard, balancing carefully, afraid of falling to certain doom. Two more guards walked through the large gates in the Inner Wall, talking loudly and laughing about something. He held his breath for no particular reason, as he had learned early on in life that people wouldn't notice the sky if it began to fall on them, and spared a brief thought to how Trowa was faring.

_Have a little faith, Duo. __Barton'll__ be just fine. Worry about your own cute ass right now…_

He walked carefully across the wall until he spotted his entrance. A small air vent gleamed in the dim light, causing a huge smile to spread across Duo's masked face. _They might as well have put out a Welcome mat. _A hop, skip and a jump (and a screwdriver) put him inside and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. He crawled commando style along the narrow space, checking openings every once in awhile to make sure he was still moving in the right direction. He finally found a large computer-filled room that was, thankfully, deserted.

He slid out of the air vent and looked around, locking the door before grabbing a chair and facing the main computer. He cracked his knuckles and began typing rapidly.

"Well, well, well. Romafellar security codes, eh? It seems our 'friendly' neighbors to the north have decided to pay us a visit…"

Several minutes later, he had bypassed Romafellar's main security codes and was poring over their reports. He pulled a small black chip out of a pocket on the inside of his vest and stuck it in the drive, hitting copy. He then leaned back and propped his boot-clad feet on the console, waiting for the files to transfer. As the last set was being copied, the door handle wiggled and someone outside the door swore. The man swore once more, and it was followed by the sound of a radio.

"_This is 27__-__74653. I need backup to sector C__ control room__. The door is locked."_

Duo grabbed his chip, deleting the transfer record and putting the computer back to idle before tiptoeing over and unlocking the door. He had just hoisted himself back into the air vent and out of sight, when he heard footsteps running up to the door. He held his breath and watched as the door swung open violently and two submachine guns entered the room, followed by the soldiers who were holding them. The taller of the two continued sweeping the room while the shorter turned and glared at the man who had called for backup.

"The door jams and you put us on a code four?"

The first soldier looked defensive. "The door was not jammed. It was locked."

The taller man had finished his check of the room and both reinforcements slung their guns back on their shoulders. "You're lucky I'm not even going to bother writing a report for this."

The first soldier followed them out of the room, still protesting that he knew the difference between stuck and locked. Duo waved goodbye cheerfully and slunk back into the vents to find his way out.

o0o0o0o0o

Trowa moved through the shadows, letting them wrap around him like a cloak. Watching the patrols, he was tempted to reach out and scare one of them, just to point out the immense flaws in their guard, but decided he wouldn't be much help rotting in a prison cell somewhere. Instead he waited patiently as they circled around. A pair stopped directly in front of his hiding place, loudly discussing something, then both burst into laughter. The thinner of the two turned to the other and said something about needing to get his gun checked out. The other soldier waved him away, telling him to notify the sweep guards that he needed a replacement. His partner nodded, made one last joke and turned, walking past Trowa's hiding spot. He tailed the man around the corner, picking up a pebble as he went.

Once they were out of sight, Trowa threw the pebble softly towards the man's feet, the noise made more conspicuous by the silence that engulfed it. The soldier stopped walking just out of eyesight of the other guards, looking around suspiciously and before he could see more than a flash of black, Trowa pressed firmly into the side of his neck. He caught the man as he fell, lowering him softly to the ground, stripping him of his uniform, and binding his hands and feet before dumping him quite unceremoniously under a crate. A minute later, a tall soldier with one bright green eye obscured by a heavy fall of bangs emerged from the shadows and grabbed the discarded gun. He checked it as he walked back toward the compound, shaking his head when he realized the gun wasn't jammed, the safety just wasn't off.

He saluted to the guard as he walked through the inner gate, heading right and ducking through a side door that had been left ajar. He smiled inwardly as he noticed a small paper stapled to the wall. _Evacuation plan. Perfect._ He traced the corridors with a finger, pausing as he found the small outer cluster where the offices most likely were. He headed in that direction, doing his best to look as if he was supposed to be patrolling that area. He finally found what appeared to be a small waiting room and glanced around. Footsteps sounded outside, what sounded like an entire squad of soldiers, and he made a quick decision, pulling himself up onto the support beam and making his way carefully over the wall. A secretary sat at a small desk in the corner, yawning and shuffling through papers, positioned to guard the door behind her. He continued across the beam into the room behind her and glanced around.

From his vantage point, Trowa could see a large leather chair, a large oak desk, and several vid-screens. Everything about the office screamed importance, from the stack of paperwork neatly organized on the right side of the desk to the secretary outside that he'd had to sneak by. The remaining question was; did he look through the office or wait for someone to come back and hopefully reveal something worthwhile? He had been laying there for several minutes, playing over both scenarios in his mind, when the decision was made for him. He heard the secretary's voice greeting someone and several voices answered. The door to the office opened and an older man in blue robes entered, followed by what appeared to be a General and two Lieutenants.

_Romafellar__ uniforms. That doesn't mean they're acting under official orders though…_ His thoughts were interrupted as the older man spoke, his voice dripping with boredom.

"Now, what is it that you _had_ to tell me in private, Lieutenant Sedichi?"

The man saluted, then began speaking. "There has been a disturbance in the Southwest quadrant, sir. Every time I send patrols through that area they're never seen again. We've scanned the area from the air and there's no sign of my men or anyone else."

The other Lieutenant glared at the first man. "Maybe your troops are just inept, Sedichi."

The first Lieutenant, Sedichi, bristled visibly and snapped, "Why don't you send your men then. I'm more than willing to stop sacrificing my men and start sending yours, Sogran!"

The General and the older man were watching the exchange with something akin to amusement in their eyes. When the Lieutenants paused in their bickering, the General looked at the older man and smiled. "What do you think, Tuberov?"

"They can always be replaced." Sedichi looked like he wanted to argue and Tuberov held up a hand to stop him. "BUT, if it will make you feel better Sedichi, take one helicopter squad and try once more to find them. Mobilize troops tomorrow morning. Lieutenant Sogran, if he has not found them by nightfall, you are in charge of destroying the area. There may be a real threat." Both men saluted and Tuberov waved at them impatiently. "You are dismissed." Both men left the room and the General locked the door behind them before taking a seat facing Tuberov.

"Well, Quinze, are we having any trouble with the prisoners?"

"The military personnel have been a bit annoying, but none of them are willing to endanger the recruits. Now that the scientists are back in a lab, they don't even seem to notice the difference."

"What about the bases we seized? Have the soldiers tried to rebel?"

"We had a small problem with one of the specials teams at the Lake Victoria base. We informed them of General Kushrenada's detainment but they persist in being a nuisance."

"Tell them that Kushrenada's death will be on their heads if they do not cooperate. If they still do not listen, kill them and throw them in the Southwest quadrant before it is taken care of tomorrow night; It will get them out of my hair, and I can tell Sedichi that we found the bodies of the rebel faction that killed his men."

"Yes sir. What do you think the disturbance is?"

"No doubt an ornery bear or something. How should I know what's in these god-forsaken woods, and more importantly, why should I care? Duke Dermail will be here in a week and half, ostensibly to bring reinforcements, but I am sure that's only a cover; I believe the Council of Ten has sent him to report on my progress, and we both know that he does not like me. It will be up to you Quinze, to make sure that everything goes smoothly."

"Yes, sir."

"Have you found Dorothy?"

"No, sir. We've been searching the detainment centers and I personally viewed the deceased to insure that she was not among them. It's like she's vanished off the face of the earth."

Trowa's eyes widened. _Cathy told me about her teammates. Relena, that 'Doc' chick, and wasn't the last one Dorothy Carina or something? I wonder if she's connected to __Romafellar__ somehow._ Below, the conversation had turned to more mundane things.

"Let me know if you find her, Quinze. Duke Dermail will be very unhappy if we have inadvertently killed his granddaughter. Until then, we need to review these supply lists." Tuberov did not sound nearly as amused as he had while discussing Sedichi's soldiers.

Trowa turned and walked carefully back across the beam, dropping to the ground out of sight of the secretary and heading back out of the building.


	6. The Mysterious Professor G

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore,

Fight or Flight

Chapter Six – The Mysterious Professor G

o0o0o0o0o

Duo was almost to his exit when a small explosion made him pause. Surprisingly, none of the guards in his view seemed at all bothered by the noise and that in and of itself was odd. He changed direction and took a vent off to his left, stopping to look into each room. He finally found one occupied by a skinny man with huge hair. He watched as the man bustled around the room, adding liquid to a beaker, writing something down on a notepad, observing a small tank in the back corner, before he finally paused and looked up.

"Well, hello there." Duo froze, unaware that he had made any move to give away his position. The strange man smiled slightly and beckoned to him.

"Yes, I know you're up there, boy. You might as well come down. I won't kill you. However, those guards outside my door might be interested to know there's a security breach in the vents…" With a silent sigh of resignation, Duo slid the vent cover off and dropped into the room. He watched as the man looked him over, nervous at the silent scrutiny. The scientist arched one eyebrow and looked puzzled. "You're not from Romafellar." It was not a question, but Duo shook his head slowly, still wary. "Come now, take off that ridiculous mask and let's have a civil conversation." He wasn't sure what choice he had, so he obliged. "Ah, Mr. Maxwell, isn't it? Sit down."

"How—" Duo stared at the old man apprehensively.

"We made it a point to keep an eye on our… brighter students, you and your group included. Does this mean the others have managed to avoid capture?"

"Students?" His mind was whirling, sorting through all the bits of information he had just received. "You… You're on the Board of Directors aren't you? And Kushrenada said those rumors were ridiculous."

"Yes, well, we don't like it getting around that we have a hand in the Academy. Wouldn't look right, you see."

"Who are you? And who is 'we'?"

"I am Professor G., and 'we' is the other doctors and myself, of course. We are responsible for finding training methods and such to maximize your potential."

"Are you helping Romafellar now?"

"No, no, my dear boy, Romafellar captured me and my four companions, as they captured the rest of the school, and the town. Quite a shock."

"How...?"

"How is not important right now! The only 'how' you should be concerned with is how you're going to defeat them."

Duo looked defensive. "Hey, you said yourself we're some of the best!"

Professor G. grumbled to himself a bit then seemed to give in. "Yes, you are. Never in my days at the Academy have we seen a group with such… familiarity."

"Huh?"

"Your group, boy! Your group works well together, and that is the foundation of any truly good army. You all work within your individual specialties and capacities and, in a sense, it makes each of you stronger than you would be alone. Much stronger, indeed. Yes… Hmm… Yes, I think so."Duo raised his eyebrows as the old man muttered to himself for another moment, then began rummaging around in the back of his laboratory. A hidden panel slid open, and from it he withdrew what appeared to be five polearms, 2 long and 3 short, and a large gun that Duo had never seen before. He looked at them lovingly, then turned and motioned Duo to come closer.

"These," the Professor said with a caressing tone in his voice, "are our greatest achievements to date."

Duo stared at them skeptically. "The gun I can understand, but five metal sticks? Am I supposed to beat Dermail to death?"

Professor G glared at him. "Not metal sticks, Gundanium weapons. Watch." He set the others down, holding only one of the long sticks. Pressing a small button discreetly placed on the lower side, the Professor activated an arcing green scythe, and promptly sliced through the pole on his right. Duo gaped as the scythe cut straight through it, hardly seeming to notice that it was reinforced steel. The scientist looked pleased as he hit the button again and the scythe disappeared.

"Now do you see? The blades are thermal, the poles Gundanium. They are practically indestructible!"

"What's the gun?"

"I'm so glad you asked. That is a PR2, a Prototype Rapid-fire, Plasma Rifle. If we hadn't also created the others, it would be our finest work. Use these against Romafellar. You will need them."

"How—"

The Professor interrupted him once more. "I don't know how, boy! All I have seen is the inside of this cell. You claim you and your little friends are so bright, you figure it out. I can tell you this though; the heart of Barge is very fragile. You will not be able to use guns, or any other sort of projectile, in the inner chambers unless you wish to bring this whole place down around our ears. The close-range weapons will come in handy."

Duo nodded and the scientist helped him strap the poles securely onto his back.

"And now, boy, you must leave. Tell the others what you know, and show them how their new weapons work. I am sorry that is all the help that I can give you."

"Thanks, G. We'll come back for you, promise." Duo waved goodbye and hoisted himself back into the vent, sliding along carefully. As he went back the way he had come, he looked into the other rooms and saw four other scientists, each as odd-looking as the Professor had been. As he crawled out the final duct and into the cool night air, he ran over everything he had learned, unwilling to forget even the smallest detail. From there it was nothing to jump back over the wall and onto the first rooftop. He paused as he saw a tall soldier walking quickly out of sight, and perched on the roof edge to watch as Trowa found the still unconscious guard and redressed him, unbinding his hands and positioning him as though he had fallen asleep. Satisfied with his work, he began moving silently toward the exit, keeping an eye upward. If he hadn't been expecting it, he never would have seen the flash of black that moved across the outer wall and onto the rooftops. He smiled grimly and climbed onto the roof, following Duo as they moved back toward the edge of the city, and Quatre.

o0o0o0o0o

Heero sat in the remains of Kushrenada's office, typing rapidly on the recently resurrected computer. Wufei stood guard, eyes scanning the through the dark for any sign of movement. "It says here that Relena and her group were scheduled to return the day before we did."

"Who else is in her group?"

"Sally Po, Dorothy Catalonia, and Trowa's sister, Catherine. It also says that General Noventa and a squad of eight have been out on scout patrol for the last two weeks. He was due back today."

"He will be a formidable ally."

Wufei could hear the smile in Heero's voice as he asked, "What, and Relena's group won't?"

He snorted. "If they do not break a nail."

"You're just mad because Dorothy beat you in explosives training."

Wufei made an odd choking noise. "She did not beat me." His voice was considerably softer as he added, "We tied."

"You're still pissed about it."

"Just finish downloading all the information so we can go. I have an errand to run."

Heero's eyebrows rose and he looked up. "Need to pick up your dry cleaning?"

"Everyone's a comedian but no one's funny…"

Heero disconnected his laptop and closed it with a click that echoed through the deserted building, securing the computer in his pack before drawing his gun. "Let's go."

o0o0o0o0o

The ride back to their hideout was uneventful. Duo and Trowa traded break-in routes, and critiqued Romafellar's security, but the whole way back Duo refused to explain what he had strapped to his back. He explained that he would explain once Wufei and Heero were present, and proceeded to ignore every attempt on Trowa and Quatre's part to question him further.

When they got back to the base, Heero and Wufei were still out, and the large building was dark and deserted. Quatre and Trowa pulled chairs and a table into a windowless corner, adding minimal light, while Duo stowed his vest in the back of the SUV and went to the bathroom. They finally sat around the War Table (as Duo called it) and listened to Trowa while waiting for the other two to get back.

"One of the Lieutenants said soldiers have been disappearing in the Southwest quadrant. They're doing a sweep tomorrow, then 'destroying the area', whatever that means."

"They're probably going to hit it with plasma cannons." Quatre looked thoughtful.

Heero's voice interrupted them. "It's Relena." Everyone watched as he entered the room and set his laptop down, taking a seat next to Trowa.

"Relena?"

"According to Kushrenada's records, her group was out on survival training during the attack. I'm sure they're doing the same thing we're trying to do."

"Every soldier who's gone into that area has disappeared without a trace. Cathy's in that group. I doubt they'd be stupid enough to hide out in the same area they're kidnapping people from, but it's a good place to start looking." Trowa paused, then added, "There are only four of them, though. One of their teammates left earlier this year."

Heero opened the laptop and flipped through several windows before finding the one he wanted. "I also found the scout roster. General Noventa and the 28th scout detail were out on duty when the attack occurred."

Quatre's spirits lifted slightly at that news. "There is no way old Skyfire let himself get captured. We should try and find him."

Duo stared at Quatre, clearly questioning his sanity. "Find Skyfire? Are you kidding me? We should let him find us. It'll be easier."

General Noventa was a direct descendant of the General the Academy was named after. He was world renowned, nicknamed for his fiery personality and bright red hair and beard. The boys had been raised on stories of the grisly old General's accomplishments and skills; if General Noventa did not want to be found, he wasn't.

Quatre nodded. "I'll have to come up with some way to let him know he has allies."

Duo started to say something then looked at Heero. "Where's Fei?"

"He said he needed to get something. He should be back soon. Did you guys find out who we're up against?"

"Yeah. Seems Romafellar decided they liked our country a little more than they should. We need to remind them it's rude to overtake countries without asking." Duo looked around impatiently. "Where the hell is Chang?"

Almost on cue, the front doors swung open and the pick-up drove through and parked. Wufei hopped out and waved at the covered back.

"I brought presents." The boys walked over and Wufei pulled the tarp off with a dramatic flourish, revealing a small mountain of C-4 secured in the bed. Quatre stared at it and both Heero and Trowa looked mildly impressed. Duo yawned pointedly.

"My presents are better."

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "What presents?"

"Well, now that everyone's here…" He went to the back of the SUV and picked up the pole arms he had brought back from the Fortress, motioning for everyone to take a seat. "You remember those rumors that went around sophomore year?"

"That Kushrenada and Merquise were having an affair?"

"No. The one about the Board of Directors really being bionic scientists. Well, they were partially true. I met one of them, Professor G., while I was in Barge. He gave me these." Duo held up one of the long weapons and pushed a button near the base. A green scythe arced from the top, glowing faintly and Duo reveled in the speechless expressions of the other four. "The staffs are made of Gundanium, the blade's thermal. There's one for each of us."

Wufei took the other long staff, a smile spreading across his face as he pushed the button and a thermal trident appeared. Quatre accepted the two short ones, swinging the kami's experimentally. Duo unhooked the last one from his belt and handed it to Heero who inspected the hilt thoroughly before pressing the button. His was straight, almost a traditional long sword, and he executed a couple passes before nodding his approval. Trowa waited expectantly, then frowned when he realized there were no more.

"I thought you said there was one for each of us."

Duo rummaged through his pack and emerged with a large gun, handing it to Trowa. "Now, I haven't tested it out, but he called it a PR2; Prototype Rapid-fire, Plasma Rifle."

"That's impossible. Plasma requires time to recharge before it can be fired again. They overheat if you don't wait. That's why they only make slow shot cannons."

Duo raised his hands in surrender. "Hey. I'm just telling you what he told me. I figured you were the gun junkie of this merry little group; take it out back and try it out..."

Trowa turned it over in his hands, inspecting it carefully. "I suppose the Gundamium could counteract the heating effects of the plasma."

"See? I told you my presents were better."

Wufei sat down in between Quatre and Heero, glancing around. "What'd you find out?"

"Romafellar's behind all this. Tuberov is in Barge and Duke Dermail's on his way. Supposedly, both are acting under the orders of the Council of Ten."

Wufei didn't look very surprised. "What's the next course of action?"

Trowa stopped looking over the gun and glanced at the Chinese youth. "We need to go find Cathy and the others, preferably before they're bombed."

"Bombed?"

Trowa repeated the conversation he had heard about the Southwest quadrant and Wufei nodded. "It will do us no good if our allies are cooked to a crisp. Who is going?"

Quatre tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought, watching as Heero yawned once more. "Heero, you need more sleep. I'll stay here and keep guard. Duo, Trowa and Wufei, you should be able to handle it."

o0o0o0o0o

A/N:: ok, I need an answer. Is anyone going to be heartbroken if Wufei and Sally don't end up together? I've been thinking over the end and I found a way I like, but they might not exactly be together. If anyone is attached to that, I will keep it 5xS, but if no one answers, I'm doing whatever I want. :D


	7. Hide and Seek

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore,

Fight or Flight

Chapter Seven – Hide and Seek

o0o0o0o0o

The sky was still dark when they left, the blue-black obscured by thick clouds. Duo steered the Batmobile effortlessly through the night, feeling the breeze and thinking of the upcoming storm. They emerged in the Southwest Quadrant nearly forty five minutes later and the car slowed to a creep.

"Where do you think they'll be? I need directions guys." Duo glanced around at the unfamiliar forest and sighed. "Just don't tell me to go left at the tree."

Wufei looked at Trowa. "Where would your sister hide?"

Trowa looked at their surroundings, thinking about his sister and the little he knew about her teammates. "My bet would be in the trees. They were probably on top of the soldiers they killed and no one ever noticed them."

Duo nodded and continued to pick his way through the trees. He finally stopped in a clearing and put the vehicle in park. "This is as far as she goes, boys. Unfortunately, we have to walk."

The three reluctantly got out of the scant protection the SUV had offered and continued into the woods on foot. Duo envied Wufei his camouflage; he felt exposed wearing so much solid black in a forest full of greens. Trowa didn't seem to mind either way but then again, Trowa never seemed to mind. He had disappeared into the shadows the second he'd left the car. He was currently a silent presence on Duo's right.

Wufei looked unhappy about where he was, and they all felt like targets for unseen eyes. Wufei's ears perked as a tree above him gave a slight whisper, as though a still wind had stirred the leaves. Despite the fact that he was running on very little sleep in the last week, and almost none in the last forty-eight hours, he still had a strong survival instinct, and if that instinct screamed at him to duck, then duck he would. He had just hit the ground when several knives buried themselves into the tree, right where his head had been seconds earlier. Trowa threw Wufei behind him and raised his arms. "Cathy! I know that's you. Stop trying to kill my teammates!"

A rueful chuckle sounded from somewhere above them and Wufei glared in its direction. "It is not funny, woman!"

A figure emerged from the dark and the three boys recognized Relena, one of their year mates. She was wearing grey shorts and the black vest, which did little to hide the vast array of weapons on her person. She had two pistols in leg holsters, a sheath of throwing knives around her waist and throwing stars on the underside of both arms. An automatic rifle was slung over each shoulder and even her gloves appeared to have lead sewn into the knuckles. Her combat boots made little noise, despite the knives hidden inside them, and her belt looked to be a weighted whip that she had merely wrapped around her waist and fastened. She raised her arms in mock surrender and their eyes widened slightly as the light reflected off a large bowie knife strapped to her side

"When did Lara Croft go blonde?" Duo, of course. His comment broke the tension and Relena smiled at them.

"I haven't seen you in awhile, Maxwell. I knew there was a reason I'd been in such a good mood lately." He smiled and she added, "Chang, Barton. Fancy meeting you all here. Where're Yuy and Winner?"

Wufei was still glaring into the trees, trying to find her hidden team. "Not here. Where are the rest of your girls?"

Relena chuckled and called, "Come on out." Three girls dropped down from their hiding places in the trees, landing on either side of Relena. Each girl was well armed, dressed in dark grey camouflage. "I'm sure you all know Cathy." Trowa's sister smiled and the boys nodded. "The blonde is Dorothy Catalonia and pigtails is Sally Po, also known as Doc."

Duo looked her over and smiled. "What's up, Doc?"

"Hi, Duo. Staying out of trouble, kid?"

"Yeah, but trouble found me…"

Dorothy was looking from one boy to the other, a suspicious look on her face. "So, you boys just drop by for a chat or is there a reason you're in our neck of the woods, so to speak?"

"Quatre sent us."

Dorothy's eyebrows raised slightly, the only clue that she was surprised at that piece of news. "Why?"

"I'm sure you guys have noticed that something's not right."

Catherine snorted. "You'd have to be blind to not notice. Maybe we don't want to get involved, though. We're student- soldiers, emphasis on the student part."

"Right, and that's why enemy soldiers have been disappearing in this area for the last couple of days. We wanted to know if you wanted to join forces with us. Strength in numbers and all that good shit…"

Relena didn't seem particularly interested in how Duo knew they'd been picking off enemy soldiers. "Where are you camped?"

"You know that old factory at North Point?"

"The old building by the river?" At Duo's nod, she continued. "Yeah, I know the place. Don't tell me that's where you're staying?"

Duo sounded defensive. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, if you like bases that might cave in around your ears at any moment."

"Is it better than being bombed?" Now he had their undivided attention. "We got into Fortress Barge yesterday. Romafellar is responsible for all this. A Lieutenant's been raising a fuss about his missing men and Tuberov gave orders to search the area, then destroy it."

Relena looked skeptical, as did the other three girls. "You guys got into Barge?" Duo nodded impatiently. "And they're going to bomb us, all over a few missing soldiers?" Duo nodded once more, beginning to look like he regretted coming. Relena glanced at the girls flanking her then turned back to Duo. "Crummy old factory it is! Let us grab our cars and we'll be ready to go."

"Have you disposed of the soldiers? If the search team finds them…" Wufei trailed off as Sally gave him a nasty look. "What'd you do with them?

Dorothy put on a horrible Italian Mafia accent and said, "They're sleepin wit' da fish…"

Wufei stared at her for a moment and shrugged. "If you say so…"

The small group headed for the hidden SUVs, Duo talking animatedly at anyone who would listen.

"You can always just check it out. If you don't like it, I doubt Quatre will hold you hostage."

They followed the girls to a small canopy of smaller trees, under which they had parked a large dark red Suburban, with a St. Noventa's sticker on the back side window and a small two-seater convertible that was so grey it was almost white. Relena walked to the convertible and got in, while Dorothy got in the driver's seat of the SUV. They followed the boys back down into the city, along the smaller back roads toward their base. Just as they'd reached the small path up to the factory the sun began to peak over the mountains, reminding the boys that it was morning.

Quatre met them at the door, informing the boys quietly that Heero had just woken up and would be down shortly before turning to the girls and giving them a warm hello. They led the girls into the building and gave them a brief tour. Dorothy whistled in appreciation as she inspected the vehicles, and Relena and Sally had a quiet discussion before turning to Quatre and nodding. "We have decided that we'll help you."

He interrupted whatever retort Wufei had been about to say and gave both girls a welcoming smile. "Make yourselves at home. Wufei, go disable the booby traps in the second story so they have somewhere to sleep." The Chinese boy huffed slightly then headed for the stairs, a sullen look on his face. Dorothy followed him, her eyes lit up at the thought of explosives. As she followed Wufei she passed Heero on the stairs, who headed toward Relena and Quatre to discuss Romafellar. Trowa showed Catherine around the downstairs, followed by a yawning Duo.

After admiring the cars and looking over some of their gear, Trowa led her toward their meeting area.

"It's not nearly as bad as we thought it would be, little bro."

"This is the War Room." He pointed toward the folding table and lawn chairs they had found in one of the rooms and moved into a corner. "The shelves over there are for weapons. You can put your stuff there if you want."

She looked it over and nodded, reaching for the knives tucked under her wrists. Duo stared as Catherine unstrapped countless knives from her person, from every conceivable place, then turned to Trowa. "Dude. Your sister is a walking slice 'n dice."

"She knows how to use them, too."

Catherine blushed slightly at the praise and turned to Duo. "You want a demonstration?"

He nodded eagerly and she motioned for Trowa to go stand by the wall. He stood with his back to the wall, face impassive as his sister sorted through the numerous knives on the table next to her. She finally selected several and flipped one in the air, catching it easily before moving to the next. Once she was satisfied with them, she looked at Trowa and smiled. "Ready little bro?

He nodded and stood up perfectly straight, facing Catherine. Duo watched as she let the first knife fly. It landed with a dull 'thunk', millimeters from the right side of Trowa's neck. He stood there, still impassive, looking bored even, despite the lethal weapons flying toward him. The next landed by his right ear, and so on, until the outline of his head, complete with bangs, was on the wall. Duo waited until Trowa had moved and revealed the outline, then started clapping like a little boy.

"That was awesome!"

Catherine grinned and held out a small knife. "You want to learn?"

Trowa closed the distance between him and his sister quickly and snatched the knife out of her hand, tossing it on her pile before grabbing her by the arm and propelling her toward the stairs. "That is the _last_ thing we need, Cathy. Let me show you the second floor."

Duo followed the two, pouting. "You're no fun Barton."

"And I know some who would say that you're too much fun."

They passed by Relena and her group who were loudly debating Duke Dermail's imminent arrival.

"I'm telling you, Dermail and Tuberov hate each other. I can guarantee that Dermail is not on his way here to help Tuberov." Sally sounded quite adamant about it.

Quatre gave her an appeasing look, but shook his head slightly. "Ok, but Dermail is still bringing reinforcements. Whether they're for Tuberov or his own personal use doesn't really matter. We need to have control of Barge and the bases before he gets here."

Heero thought for a second. "We need a way to stop Dermail before he reaches Barge."

Relena gave him a scathing look. "And how do you plan to do that? There's nine of us and like, a lot of them."

He shifted his glare to her. "I don't know. It was just a suggestion. I don't see you volunteering any plans."

"Who's already disposed of an entire squad? Not you guys."

"Yeah, and who almost got bombed for it? And you said it yourself. They have hundreds of squads at their disposal."

Quatre looked slightly amused but, at a nudge from Sally, interrupted the two. "You both are somewhat right. We'll need to come up with plans to increase our odds of survival, and use every advantage that we have. Otherwise they'll wipe the floor with us."

"Duo said something about General Noventa on the ride over here?"

"Yeah. He had a squad out on patrol when all this happened. We have no idea where he is, but we need to try and find him."

"Yeah, that'll be easy…"

"I've already had this conversation with Duo! We're going to find a way to let him know where we are and have him find us."

"I guess… How are you going to do that?"

Quatre glared at Relena. "I don't know okay! I will think of something."

"Okay, just asking…What's the plan until then?"

"We need to check out the military bases. When Dermail gets here, we need to have control of Barge and as many bases as possible."

Relena and Sally both smiled. "Oh, is that all?"

o0o0o0o0o

Sigh This may be my least favorite chapter so far, but it had to be done. Something about this one just wouldn't flow, though I am much happier with it now than I was earlier today. I also have a question; I have over 750 hits on the story, and 12 reviews. I know not everyone is reading it all the way through, but somebody has to be. Seriously, you guys should be glad I'm not one of those people who hold my story hostage for reviews. (We'd still be on chapter 2…) From there I will go on to say a big, _huge_ thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. You guys make me smile and re-open the word document I had just closed in frustration.


	8. A Message in Dreams

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore, (If there're any questions about the Blood Feud, feel free to ask. It'll get explained a bit more later on.)

Fight or Flight

Chapter Eight – A Message in Dreams

o0o0o0o0o

Quatre was not having a good day.

Well, honestly, the past week hadn't been all that great for the blonde boy, but technically the day had just started and it had already earned the description 'hellacious.'

Once the girls were somewhat settled, he had helped Catherine and Trowa cook breakfast for everyone. The food had been greeted boisterously, but once it had been consumed, the lack of sleep had caught up to everyone. Heero had made one comment to Duo and Duo had turned and cussed him out, then stormed out of the room to go work on the rest of the cars. Dorothy and Relena were arguing with Wufei about high-ranking women in the military, specifically whether or not there should be any, and Dorothy looked close to slugging the oblivious boy. Trowa and Sally were the only ones having a civil conversation, but they were discussing their pets so there wasn't a whole lot of room for arguing beyond whose pet was better, (and seeing as Sally had a Golden Retriever and Trowa had two lions, Quatre didn't think there was an argument there anyway. "My pet could eat yours," was all Trowa would have to say to win that argument.) Catherine was sitting next to Quatre looking sleepy and keeping an eye on Dorothy in case she did decide to kill Wufei.

His mind finally tuned out everyone around him and turned once again to Romafellar. They needed more information. They needed more soldiers, more supplies, more time. A week and a half until Duke Dermail arrived, and they needed to be ready well before then. He still didn't know where all the soldiers and cadets were being kept, but at least they knew Kushrenada, Merquise and the scientists were in Barge. That made it no easier to get them _out_ of Barge, but at least he knew where they were.

He had no way of getting word out to anyone who could help without risking their safety. Who knew how well Romafellar was monitoring activity in the supposedly deserted cities surrounding Barge. Quatre sighed inwardly and rubbed his aching forehead. For all he knew, they had already noticed the teenage boys joyriding around the city at odd times of night.

A soft hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up into smiling green eyes. Catherine gave him another reassuring squeeze. "You alright, kid?"

Quatre nodded slowly, unaware that he looked as worn as he felt. "Yeah. Just tired."

"I know you've got a lot of pressure on you right now, but I'm sure your boys have faith in you. The whole school knew you were the youngest cadet Kushrenada ever trained, and Trowa said you were brilliant. They look up to your leadership skills and we believe in you, too. Don't let them run you ragged."

Quatre may have been playing the part of General, but that didn't stop him from squeaking and turning bright red at the praise. "Trowa said that?"

She smiled once more and stood up, yawning and stretching. "I don't know about you, but I sure could use a nap."

He nodded and stood. "Alright guys." Everyone paused and he looked around the room, from Sally and Trowa waiting patiently, to Dorothy in the process of attempting to hook Wufei's chair out from underneath him without him noticing. "We're taking the day off."

Everyone but Catherine gave him a strange look and Wufei stood up. "Shouldn't we be doing something productive? Shooting people, or getting information or… blowing something up or something?"

Quatre shook his head. "We got information, and we found the girls. I am tired. I am going to sleep until nightfall. We will do base recon then." He ignored Wufei, who looked like he wanted to argue and went downstairs to grab a change of clothes. Trowa and the girls followed him. A moment later Wufei came down as well, a grudging look on his face.

As Quatre was heading upstairs once more, he paused by Duo and yelled, "We're reconvening at nightfall. You can do whatever you want until then. I would recommend you get some sleep."

Duo's braid flew up and down as he nodded. "I have a couple more things to do on the cars, then I will."

Quatre nodded and went toward the east side of the building, darker due its lack of windows. Trowa was climbing the stairs as Quatre stumbled into the darkest room he could find. Two sleeping bags lay in the middle with a gun near each one. Quatre quickly shed his jacket, shirt and shoes, tucking himself into a sleeping bag with a sigh of relief. He watched silently as Trowa entered the room, pulled off his vest and shoes and fell into bed, still wearing a grey tank top and his black pants. His dog tags jingled slightly as he arranged himself, a reassuring sound that reminded Quatre of the five of them back in their bunks at the Academy. It was this sound that he fell asleep to, seconds later.

In his dream, Quatre stood suspended over a giant chessboard. The as-yet unlocated Skyfire was a silent presence at his side, motioning for him to study the scene before him. On the white side, the pieces were his friends and comrades. Heero stood in the King's position, with Relena next to him as the Queen. They were flanked by Duo, Wufei, Trowa, Dorothy, Catherine and Sally, and defended by General Noventa's faceless soldiers. On the black side, all the pieces wore military uniforms. A few of the faces he recognized from his cultural studies class; Duke Dermail, Tuberov, Dekim Barton. Those that he didn't know had slightly shadowed faces, as though because he didn't recognize them, the details were harder to make out. As he stood and watched, the board began to play itself out, the pieces moving silently. He watched as his friends managed to surround the enemies' pieces, picking them off one by one before capturing the shadowed figure in the king's place. Then the pieces vanished and reappeared in their starting places. This time it was his comrades who were hunted. He watched in silent horror as first Wufei, then Trowa fell. Dorothy managed to take out several opponents before falling to the faceless queen. Finally Duo was shot as he struggled to defend Heero, and then Heero himself was killed. Once more, the pieces reset themselves, locked into another silent battle. As he watched the horror repeat itself over and over Skyfire opened his mouth, but it was Kushrenada's deep voice that echoed through the vast space.

_To be not only a good General but a truly effective one, you must be able to find and plan for the exponential situations that may arise. For example, let us say that we are storming a castle. A rather old fashioned notion, I know, but let us pretend. When you formulate a plan of attack, you must also be able __to see the multitude of responses that their warriors will make and plan for those as well. That is why all good Generals are half insane. They must see both sides of the equation, attack and defense, and put themselves in their opponents' shoes. It is like playing both sides of a chessboard. You must have a plan for any move they may make. Until they have chosen a course of action, you must treat every possibility as reality. It is enough to drive one mad._

His breath caught in his throat as he watched the most recent battle. The black pawns had stormed his friends. No matter how many pawns they killed, more took their places, until one by one every one he knew had been slaughtered. The pawns still kept coming, hundreds of them, over running the entire chessboard.

He woke with a start, sitting straight up and gasping for air. Despite the cold air, he was drenched in sweat and his breathing was still labored.

"Quatre…" The blond looked around at the soft sound of Trowa's voice through the dim light. He could see the faint outline of the boy sitting up in his sleeping bag on his left. "Are you alright?"

Quatre took a few more deep breaths and, when he was sure that he could speak, he replied, "Yeah. I'm sorry I woke you, Trowa."

There was a moment of silence then Trowa lay back down, considerably closer to Quatre than he had been originally. "As long as you are alright."

Quatre smiled sadly and murmured a quiet thank you. Trowa turned to face Quatre and within moments was asleep again. Quatre lay in bed, listening to the other boy's soft breathing and pondering the merits of detaining the enemy soldiers versus killing them. They were all pawns in Romafellar's games, meaningless to the General's who gave them commands. But they were a crucial pawn, if only in their sheer numbers. They could easily turn the tide in the end.

On the other hand, he wanted as little blood as possible to stain their memories. It would be hard on them, though they would all deal with it in their own ways. Still foggy from his rest, he allowed his mind to wander, contemplating the next thing that had been bothering him.

Duo would act out, do stupid things for a little while. Everyone would make excuses for him, as they would for all the boys; that they were heroes, and the things they did were only done in survival. No one would reward Duo with the negative attention that he craved so he would calm down, probably take up tai chi or some other random class to center himself and eventually come to peace with it.

Heero would retreat into himself, pulling back a little further from the world that wouldn't understand him. He had accepted that he was good at war, and good at playing soldier. He felt guilty for the lack of real guilt, and that was almost worse than anything. Despite the fact that it was Quatre giving the orders, he was the leader. All the deaths were on him, even though he had just done what he knew needed to be done.

Wufei would feel a warrior's pride, that strange mix of vanquishing a foe, yet still respecting them for having the courage to fight. He would meditate and study and try and remind himself of the beauty that the mind held over the body. It would help him grow, become even more of a man and, Quatre believed it would be good for him. Not the killing, but the thinking that it would demand after.

Trowa… Trowa would appear be fine. Nothing seemed to faze Trowa, as if he'd seen it all a thousand times and nothing could surprise him. He had yet to see Trowa bat that one green eye at anything, let alone be truly upset. Who knew how it would affect Trowa…

Quatre paused to consider Trowa before deciding to put the boy (and analyzing himself) into the back of his mind and pondered the next topic; Duo. More specifically, Duo and his sudden issue with Heero.

He remembered last year. It had almost been pathetic how perfect the two were for each other, Heero more reserved and serious and Duo always outgoing and willing to put up with all of Heero's surly anti-socialness. At the end of the last school year it had seemed to Quatre (and anyone with eyes) that something had happened between the two of them (what with the flirting, the inappropriate touching and the bruises). Then they had left for summer break and things had been different after their return. Heero had been distant, grumpy and sometimes downright mean with Duo and the braided boy had taken to walking around like he was a zombie, making jokes automatically, the smile never really reaching his eyes. No one knew what had happened and Duo claimed they'd just stopped talking, and he wasn't that upset about it.

It killed Quatre that Duo wouldn't confide in him, and irked a little bit more that no one would, or could, tell him what had happened. More recently though, Quatre had noticed a change in Heero. He had been less… harsh around Duo, now choosing to spend his time watching the boy. He was somewhat being nice to Duo again, and Duo had no clue what to do about it. Mentally he shrugged, knowing that all he could do was keep an eye on the two of them, and be there to referee the fight that was coming as surely as the storm outside. There was still tension there, as Quatre had witnessed at breakfast. People who were in love did not cuss out their boyfriends like Duo had done that morning.

He looked once more at the boy lying near his side, bangs hanging over one side of his face. He had pulled Quatre aside earlier in the morning, right after they had returned with Relena's group. Hurriedly whispered words of traitors and spies had sent Quatre's brain into a whirlwind that had only been ended by the soft jingle of Trowa's dogtags. Thinking about it now, it was Trowa's bit of information that had set off his original headache, the one that had prompted him to send the others to bed like unruly children.

_"Quatre, do you remember learning about Duke __Dermail's__ family during Anatomy of an Enemy?" Quatre remembered nodding, confused as to why this was a pressing question. "Do you remember his daughter, the one who married the Earl of __Blahnke, __Jonh__ Catalonia? They had a daughter named Dorothy. When I was in Barge, __Tuberov__ and his General were talking about finding a girl named Dorothy. __Tuberov__ was upset because she was __Dermail's__ granddaughter and he was afraid they'd accidentally killed her." Trowa had paused, as if he was unsure whether to continue. "The General replied that he had checked the deceased and she wasn't there. I don't think she's a spy but I thought you might want to know." _

It had been just like Trowa to argue like that. No wild accusations or undue distress. Just a quiet, "Hey, I think that girl we just invited to live with us is connected to Romafellar, and here's two good, solid facts that prove my statement. Why don't you think about that for a bit and get back to me with your ideas. And by the way, people have been killed already," and he had sauntered off in the direction he had seen his sister go, and that had been the end of that. Pale blue eyes burned holes into the ceiling as Quatre wondered what to do about Dorothy.

What had Trowa meant when he said he didn't think she was a spy? That meant he had somehow tested her, and in his mind, she had passed. He wouldn't make that kind of statement lightly. Quatre growled silently, almost hating Trowa for giving him another thing to worry about. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Quatre looked once more at the sleeping boy. His mouth hung slightly open, his face relaxed in what appeared to be peaceful slumber and Quatre sighed.

He hadn't done it on purpose. He had done it because he knew it had to be done, and Quatre was the only one he felt would understand.

He smiled grimly as he remembered Kushrenada's speech. That was only one end of the argument.

She could truly be on their side. From what he had gathered from Relena and Sally, Dorothy had been the result of a Blood Debt between the Earl of Blahnke and Relena's father. Dorothy had killed the son of one of Sanc's dignitaries and, according to custom, had been relinquished to the Sanc kingdom for justice. They had even gone so far as to schedule a date for her execution.

Due to her age, Relena's father had ordered a more thorough investigation and found Dorothy had killed the son in self defense. Her execution was cancelled and she was sent to St. Noventa's to train as a bodyguard/ personal servant for Relena. The two were more sisters than maid and mistress, and he didn't know that Dorothy had had any contact with her home land in more than 3 years. She had been a late fourteen when she was sent to Sanc and now approaching eighteen. The optimistic part of Quatre wanted her to believe that she would fight for the country that had welcomed her, but the more cynical part of him warned him to not be overly trusting.

He ran out of thoughts on Dorothy, knowing all he could do was wait and watch. When the time came, he hoped he would know what to do. What orders to give, what people to send, who to kill. What decisions to make, knowing his friends lives hung in the balance. He knew that too had to wait, but it didn't make it easier.

He yawned and rolled over, facing Trowa.

What else could he do really? It was here his mind stopped. He felt that he had turned over every stone he could find. There were still questions, yes, but he hadn't been able to answer them five minutes ago, and there was no reason to believe he suddenly would be able to. As he lay there, Trowa's slow breathing caught up to him once more and his eyes closed, pulling him this time to a dreamless sleep.

o0o0o0o0o

A/N:: Not a whole lot of action in this chapter, but I figure poor Quatre's under so much stress, we should let him vent a bit. All the capitalized subjects (Anatomy of an Enemy, etc..) are all classes they attended at St. Noventa's.

In case anyone was wondering how old they were: Trowa and Catherine are twins, both 18 (but Catherine is 17 minutes older than Trowa, which is why she calls him little bro.) Heero is almost 18, Dorothy is 18, and the rest of them are 17. (I've never understood why characters have random conversations about things they should already know, just to give the readers information like that. Then again, maybe I'm just weird…)


	9. Working the Graveyard Shift

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore. Remember – ((blah blah blah)) sign language

Fight or Flight

Chapter Nine – Working The Graveyard Shift

o0o0o0o0o

"We need to know how many people are at each base. Find out how many are soldiers, civilians, cadets, all that. We can't plan anything else until we know what we're dealing with. Sally, you're going to go inspect the satellites. Find a way to disable them, preferably so it looks like a system malfunction, not sabotage. Wufei and Dorothy, you'll be responsible for Lakeside Base. Heero, you and Duo are going to scout out Lake Victoria. Trowa; you, Catherine and Relena are going to go to Lowe Air Force Base. See how hard it would be to ground the fighter planes, and find a way to get the helicopters they have there. That's also where they should be storing most of the army transports. We'll need them to get civilians out of the city. When we storm the bases we need to release our soldiers and cadets and put them to use. That means getting them weapons, armor and transportation. We don't want to alert Romafellar to our presence; touch nothing now, but know where everything is for later." Quatre paused and looked out at his small band of soldiers. Eight grim teenagers stared back, already wearing camouflage and face paint. Quatre gave them an optimistic smile and sighed inwardly.

_We are so screwed._

As everyone grabbed their gear and headed toward their vehicles, Sally appeared next to him.

"You got a sec?"

Quatre nodded and stopped walking.

"About the satellites. I could probably give it a surge of electricity; time it with the lightning storm that's coming. I don't think they'd be able to tell the difference."

Quatre nodded. "Do whatever you want as long as it works. When do you think you'll be back?"

"I'll probably get there around dawn. I have no idea how long it'll take me to get up to the satellites and back, and I don't even know if the truck'll make it up there. I should be back after nightfall tomorrow, but I don't know for sure. The true storm won't be here for another week. That gives us time to plan."

Quatre nodded slowly, filing the information away until he could work it into his plan. "Good luck, Sally." He watched them leave, face grim as he looked them all over.

o0o0o0o0o

Wufei and Dorothy sat perched in matching Fir trees, swaying slowly with the wind and holding gigantic binoculars.

Dorothy's eyes practically glowed and her cheeks were flushed, and Wufei could practically see her mind flipping through the explosives and trip-wires that she would need for the base. She might as well be planning a shopping list.

"So, I'm thinking we blow the shit out of _everything_…"

Wufei looked surprised. "You know, I like your thinking." He held the binoculars up to his eyes, slowly moving from doors to a cargo bay, to barracks and their armory. "We'll have to map out the important areas."

She nodded slowly. "What do we have to work with?"

Wufei scanned the compound once more then put his binoculars down. "I've got small explosives, and grenades, but we should probably save those for Barge. I may have C-4 at the base."

She stared at him, mouth hanging open. "That works."

"I'll map the outside. You okay to do the inside?"

"Yeah." She grinned. "Be back soon, sweetheart," and she practically fell down the tree, landing softly below and ignoring his grumbling. He watched her through the binoculars until she disappeared behind the fence.

She paused in a dark corner and wrapped her hair up, black face cloth covering bright blue eyes and white-blonde hair. She watched a group of soldiers go walking by, then snuck by the sentry and climbed through an open window. The moon-lit night gave little light to see by, and she waited patiently until her eyes adjusted.

Running down the hall softly, she glanced into open doors, mentally marking the roms in her head. She found a long corridor with closed doors, complete with guards at every opening. Looking around, she jumped and grabbed an overhead pipe, pulling herself up easily. No one noticed the small black-clad figure walking slowly above them, looking down into every room she passed. Several high ranking military officials sat inside the small rooms. She counted them as she went, recognizing most as instructors from the academy.

Once she had double-checked her numbers, she headed away from them, down another corridor. These rooms held groups of twenty to thirty teenagers, all asleep. She counted the cadets and guards, memorizing their positions to tell Quatre.

After gazing down at the familiar faces for another moment, she left in search of the barracks. A quick search of the opposite side of the building revealed several long buildings just outside of the armory. She took another look outside of the window, just to make sure everything was where she thought it was, then smiled in satisfaction.

She allowed herself one more look at the sleeping cadets and wound her way back to her exit, moving into the darkness without a noise.

o0o0o0o0o

Trowa, Relena and Catherine stood on a cliff top overlooking the Lowe Air Force Base. Catherine had a small notepad open and was mapping the position of the planes, helicopters and trucks while Trowa and Relena pointed out different areas in the base.

"I think we should blow up the planes. It'll give us a decent distraction to get control of the base, and it'll ground their fleet like Quatre wanted."

Relena gave him an odd look. "I don't think Sanc is going to be very happy if we blow up their Air Force."

"I know, but right now, it isn't their air force. Romafellar has control of the base, so technically it's Romafellar's Air Force. The trucks are far enough away but we'd need to move the helicopters. We might need them."

Relena nodded, but looked skeptical. "Who knows how to fly a helicopter though? I don't think anyone in my group can."

Catherine looked up from her sketching. "Sally can." Both Relena and Trowa looked shocked, causing Catherine to shrug. "I'm pretty sure she learned during her Field Medics training. You know she hates to brag about stuff like that."

"We'll have to ask her, but that still only takes care of one of the helicopters."

Trowa shrugged. "If it comes down to it, I'll sneak one of the flight techs out of captivity. We'll deal with that later." He paused as a large group of people were herded out of the side of one of the buildings. "Hand me those binoculars."

Relena passed him a pair and he scaled a nearby tree. Perched higher up, he had an unobstructed view of the group. Several younger soldiers in Romafellar uniforms had guns trained on the older men wearing torn, stained Sanc and Academy uniforms. They led the men around the yard several times then moved them back into the building. He came down the tree in a controlled fall, landing effortlessly next to Relena once more.

"Write down the time. We should stake it out tomorrow and see if they bring them out at the same time every day."

Catherine scribbled something down. "We could blow the planes when everyone's outside. The captives would be easier to free, although I don't know how we'd get them weapons."

Relena watched as the captives shuffled back into the building, a look of contempt in her eyes. "They aren't even fighting. Full grown military men and they're taking it lying down."

"Tuberov said they were using the cadets and Kushrenada as leverage for good behavior. Even a General doesn't want 600 teenage deaths on his hands."

Relena smirked. "Five hundred and ninety-one teenage deaths. Some of us didn't get caught."

Trowa rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you were so smart. It was all in your plan to have Kushrenada send you out of town?"

"Whatever Barton. Not like you guys were any smarter."

Catherine rolled her eyes at the bickering before interrupting them both. "We should probably check out the inside now.. Stay and watch the outside. We'll make it quick."

Relena nodded and snatched the binoculars from Trowa. He shared a rueful smile with his sister, then the two set off. Trowa followed Catherine, up and over the main fence, up a small water drain-off pipe, across the roof and down a small vertical vent. She landed silently in a dark room, looking around before motioning for Trowa to come down. He landed just as quietly and walked to the door, pressing an ear to it before opening it cautiously. He pointed at the computer and Catherine sat down. He looked through some of the papers on the desk while she looked through the computer files. He looked up as a slim hand waved at him, pointing at his vest. He undid a small pocket on his right side and handed her a small black computer chip. She slid it into the drive and hit a button, looking satisfied as the computer made a soft whirring noise. Trowa had found a paper he liked and was scribbling the information into his notebook.

As he began rearranging the papers where he had found them, she removed the small disk and tucked it away securely, removing the records from the mainframe and shutting down the programs. She finished as Trowa stepped back, looking pleased with his work. They exited the building as quietly as they had entered it, finding Relena and moving back toward their car.

o0o0o0o

Heero and Duo were crouched behind the few trees on the fringe of the Lake Victoria base, a smaller compound on the opposite side of Lakeside. Heero looked at Duo, waiting until he saw the braided boy's head turn toward his. He raised two fingers to his lips, and then motioned ahead of them several times. Duo's shadow nodded and they both moved forward slowly. They paused at the final shrubs, facing only open ground ahead of them. Duo looked toward the building, eyes following the shadows slowly. He turned toward Heero.

((I'm going. You stay here.))

Before Heero could protest, he had slipped off into the night, moving quickly through the shadows. He disappeared from sight and Heero cursed silently, scanning the dark for any sign of Duo. A moment later, a small shadow slid across the roof and Heero watched him disappear into an alcove.

Duo ducked through the small panel and dropped into a deserted hallway. He looked both ways, mentally running over what he had been taught about military layouts. He then turned south and began running silently, peering around corners and listening for any sign of life. The base was still, the whispering of his clothes the only sound he heard. When he reached a small security checkpoint, he looked around at the doors surrounding him. Peering through a small slit, he had to force himself not to gasp. People lay crammed into a small room; all looking rumpled and tired, even in sleep. The next room held the same, and the one after that. Duo lost count after the third room, unable to estimate the sheer number of people in that space. He counted the rooms, marked the position on a small map in his head and headed back out the way he had entered.

Heero waited what felt like an agonizing hour, but was probably closer to fifteen minutes. He was still glaring at the spot where Duo had disappeared when a slight figure appeared out of the shadows, moving straight toward Heero. He watched as Duo disappeared into another patch of shadows before appearing once again, moving closer and closer. He blinked and Duo was standing next to him, looking quite pleased with himself. He motioned for Heero to follow him and they turned away from Fortress Barge, racing toward the car. Once they were far enough away, they both pulled off their masks, and Duo heaved a sigh of relief.

Heero glared at him, displeasure clear in his eyes. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Just vanish whenever you feel like it."

"Why do you care?" Duo was glaring back by this point, violet meeting blue just as angrily.

"You could have gotten caught."

"You know, Yuy, you have no faith…" Duo threw open the door to the car and tossed his pack into the small backseat. "I have done nothing to deserve this." He slid into the passenger's seat and glared as Heero sat next to him. "I snuck into Barge didn't I? What's that compared to a poorly guarded, civilian internment camp?"

Duo smiled smugly as Heero looked at him. "They're keeping the civilians there?"

"The ones that they haven't shipped off yet. There are fewer guards there. I guess the civilians aren't big on fighting back."

Heero focused on the road ahead, his mind racing. "We'd need to get the civilians out of there. I don't know where we'd put them though…" He continued muttering under his breath as Duo looked on. "They can't be very alert there; they wouldn't have the civilians guarded well."

"I think we should leave that base alone in the beginning. Attack the others, but only hit that one once we can free everyone."

Heero nodded thoughtfully, feeling the familiar feeling of a fight approaching. He felt better than he had in months. "We'll have to tell Quatre." He sounded almost delighted at the prospect.

"Yup." Duo stretched in his seat and threw a look at Heero. "You know, Hee-chan, you don't always have to be so serious."

"One of us has to be." He looked over at Duo and smirked. "Baka."

Duo looked out the window to hide the huge smile on his face. The nickname was back! That was a good thing. He finally managed to turn the geeky grin into a somewhat seductive smile and looked at him sidelong. "Also, you know when you save the world with someone, you automatically fall in love with them." Duo batted his eyelashes at Heero and sighed dramatically.

"That's not true, baka."

"Yeah it is! Look at Transformers. Look at Star Wars, Austin Powers, InuYasha!"

"Duo, this is not an anime. Giant robots are not going to fall out of the sky and begin dueling over the fate of the earth. And as much as I hate to break it to you, things do not always happen like in the movies. Just because Austin Powers is an old movie, that doesn't mean it's historically accurate."

Duo stuck out his tongue, though inwardly he was rejoicing. Apparently all it took was a crisis of epic proportions to get the old Heero Yuy back.

o0o0o0o0o

Sally stood at the base of a large hillside, staring up at the very top of it. On its peak, miles and miles up, sat three large satellites, framed against the early morning sky.

She looked at for another moment then looked around. Her pick-up sat patiently, but parts of the hillside looked dangerous; rocky, narrow, and steep. Her eyes continued to roam the small turn off she had parked in and found a red Nissan pick-up parked haphazardly in a spot. She smiled to herself and walked over to inspect it.

A grey and black dirt bike was strapped in the back of the truck, key in the ignition. She made a small gesture of victory and grabbed the dirt bike, quickly loading it into the back of the truck and securing it. She headed up the first small hill, the truck flying over the smooth, low ground. Once she headed up further, the trucks tires began slipping, and her progress became decidedly slower. She finally stopped the truck on a relatively flat spot and got out into the chilly air. She unloaded the dirt bike and quickly grabbed minimal safety gear; a chest plate, helmet and gloves. The medic in Sally was yelling at her, reminding her of the danger of operating an all terrain vehicle without the proper safety gear, but the soldier in Sally was telling the medic to shut up, she could always sew herself back together later. She secured her tools and laptop in her pack and strapped it tightly on. She got everything straightened out and grabbed her helmet off the back of the pick-up.

She mounted her dirt bike, kicking it over and letting it idle as she secured her helmet and pulled on her gloves. Shifting it into gear, she pulled the throttle and went speeding up the dirt hill, engine roaring.

A/N:: And the story moves forward! Sorry about the delay. Works had me living out of a suitcase for the last three days.


	10. Break Time

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

A/N:: chapter was supposed to be so much longer, but I got a bit stuck so this is what it is… Enjoy.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Ten – Break Time

o0o0o0o0o

As Sally began her long trek up the hill, the others were arriving back at headquarters. Quatre had been sitting in the same spot the entire night and was shaken out of his thoughts as the first vehicle pulled in. It deposited Dorothy and Wufei in the middle of Duo's showroom and, to Quatre's shock, the two were having a civil conversation. He watched in amazement as Wufei helped Dorothy unload the car before heading in his direction. Dorothy followed soon after, still talking animatedly. As Wufei looked at him, he raised one eyebrow, causing Wufei to look quickly at Dorothy then blush. Quatre backed off, knowing if he pushed the issue Wufei would get angry, blowing all chances of his co-existing peacefully with the blonde girl.

"How'd it go?"

The two exchanged a look then Dorothy answered, "Cadets. A couple of military officials, some of the instructors from St. Noventa's. There were also barracks housing probably 200 soldiers."

As Quatre nodded, Wufei added, "Most of the base is timber. We'll need C-4."

"How much of it?"

Wufei gave a tiny smile and muttered, "As much as we got."

Quatre stared at him for a moment. "So, let me get this straight… Not only are you telling me you need C-4, you're telling me you need _all_ the C-4?"

Two heads nodded seriously and Quatre sighed. "What exactly do you want to decimate, China?"

"Just the base. We think we can destroy certain parts and corral everyone in." Dorothy sounded like she truly believed it would work.

"I'm telling you Quatre, precision bombing. It's been in all the magazines lately." Wufei sounded like he was trying to convince his dad he needed the latest video game.

Dorothy nodded. "They did a feature on it in M-4 Monthly, in their Explosion Special."

Quatre stared from one to the other, rubbing his temples soothingly. "You guys must be joking." When they both just stared at him blankly, he sighed. "It's your C-4, Wufei. Do whatever you want."

Wufei and Dorothy walked off, looking pleased and discussing plans. Quatre stared after them in disbelief, looking up only when he heard another car engine. Duo's Camaro pulled in, followed by Trowa driving the Batmobile. Both vehicles parked, the doors flying open and spilling teenagers into the room.

Quatre watched in new amazement as Duo looked at Heero and said something. Heero gave him a look that, on a less stern man, would have been called adoring. On him it looked mildly amused. Quatre fought the urge to gape at the two. What had happened to the feuding boys that had left just the night before? He then glanced at Trowa and saw that he was engaged in conversation with Relena, which was almost as shocking. Feeling like he had missed something, he watched them all grab their stuff and pile it by the War Room.

By the time they had all gathered, Quatre sat at the head of the table waiting for them. They all sat and he waited expectantly. No one wanted to speak, but Duo was the first to break the silence.

"Civilians. A lot… possibly all of them. Tucked in the south corner."

Heero saw the slight grimace on Duo's face and continued for him. "We don't think the base is well guarded. I saw no ground patrols while we were there, and the tower guard was minimal."

Quatre nodded slowly. "Any guards on the individual rooms?"

"Staggered guards throughout the hallway, armed with automatic rifles." Duo smirked. "I'd say one guard for every hundred civilians."

Trowa snorted and both Relena and Catherine hid smiles. Everyone could see Quatre's brain picking through Romafellar's mistakes. He was silent for a minute, then he turned a thoughtful gaze on Trowa, Relena and Catherine.

"What's the Air Force Base like?"

The three exchanged a glance and Relena gave Quatre a sunny smile. "We want to blow the planes."

He sighed mentally, not a bit surprised. "What is it with you people and wanting to blow stuff up?"

"Hey, it is the most logical way to both create a diversion _and_ ground their fleet."

Trowa gave Quatre a reassuring look. "And we have C-4. It'll be fine."

Quatre smirked, glad that he at least didn't have to deal with that argument. "All requests for explosives now go through Wufei."

Trowa raised an eyebrow and Duo looked startled. "Why?"

"Him and Dorothy said they need it for…" Quatre paused, trying to decide the best way to explain the plan they had given him, "…something; I'm not quite sure what." At everyone's look of disbelief, Quatre shrugged. "Besides, he's the one who got it in the first place. Technically, it's his."

None of them looked satisfied with that argument, but Quatre didn't care. He looked pointedly at Trowa and motioned for him to continue. Trowa stared at the blonde for a moment before jerking to attention. "We have more files to review. I was hoping I'd have time to do that today."

Quatre nodded."Take today to plan, gather your supplies and rest. We'll move out at dawn tomorrow."

They all nodded, standing and stretching before shuffling off. Trowa and Heero grabbed laptops and settled in the Control Room to decode the files that Trowa and Duo had gathered, and to watch the surveillance monitors. Duo went and found Wufei, dragging him downstairs to spar with him while Dorothy and Relena sat in a corner, their heads bowed in discussion. Quatre settled against a wall, watching Duo and Wufei try to kill each other in the name of practice and watching the sun try to rise through the thick storm clouds.

It was nearly an hour later when Quatre fell asleep, causing Duo to pause and smile. He also gave Wufei a slight opportunity and allowed a roundhouse kick to connect with the side of his head. He staggered back, groaning and glaring at Wufei, who had made no move to help him. The Chinese boy glared back, still in a defensive position, as if he was afraid Duo might lunge at any moment.

"I said _practice_, fucker!"

Wufei looked down his nose at him, and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say anything, Duo raised his arms in surrender. "Ok, you win. I'll make breakfast." Wufei stared as Duo gave him a huge smile and headed toward the stairs. He paused at the bottom, looking back at Wufei, who still looked stunned at the abrupt change of topic. "You coming?" He raised his eyebrows as Wufei stared at him for a moment longer then slowly followed him up the stairs.

"You are so strange Maxwell…" He gave Duo an odd look. "And you are not cooking breakfast. I might die." He smirked and added, "And that would not be an honorable death."

"There is nothing wrong with my cooking!" Duo stopped abruptly on the stairs and Wufei nearly ran into him. "What is wrong with my cooking?"

"Nothing, calm down…" Wufei made a shooing motion and Duo glared at him. "C'mon, I'll let you… crack the eggs or something."

Duo didn't look happier but he continued up the stairs. As they reached the top he turned once more. "I will have you know that I can make a mean pop tart…" He nodded seriously as Wufei tried not to laugh.

"I'll tell you what… Go check on Heero and Trowa and I'll start breakfast." He once again shooed Duo in the proper direction, earning another glare from the braided boy. Wufei gave him an encouraging smile and Duo continued to glare at him as he stalked off to find the other boys.

He stuck his head into several rooms before locating Heero and Trowa, seated across from each other at a small table with wires running in every direction. Neither looked up at Duo's appearance, and their typing never faltered.

"Whatcha doin?" He grabbed the third chair and flipped it around, straddling it and resting his head on the back.

"Working. You know, doing something productive…"

Duo pantomimed being in pain, moaning piteously. "You wound me." He stuck out his tongue. "Seriously, you guys find anything?"

"Not really. No one in Sanc has ever captured Romafellar code, so we were never really trained in it. Only the theories that _might_ be behind it." Trowa looked mildly unhappy, which meant he was pissed.

Heero looked up finally, his eyes settling on Duo. "We're making headway, but it's going slow."

Duo nodded, finally taking a good look around the room. "What're all those?" His eyes scanned the many screens, each showing deserted streets and darkness.

Heero looked vaguely proud of himself as he said, "When we went out for supplies, I managed to hardwire a lead into the surveillance and traffic cameras. That is our twenty four hour eye on the city."

Duo took a closer look, beginning to recognize some of the areas. He continued to stare, trying to cover his amazement. "Not bad Yuy."

Heero grunted in a non-committal way and Duo rolled his eyes. Trowa looked at both of them and set his laptop back, stretching luxuriously. "So, how badly did Wufei kick your ass?"

Duo rubbed the side of his head and smiled ruefully. "It wasn't my ass that he kicked."

"LESS BITCHING, MORE TELLING THEM THAT BREAKFAST IS ALMOST READY!"

Duo glared at the wall that blocked Wufei's general direction then sighed. "So guys…"

Trowa raised an eyebrow and held up a hand to stop Duo. "Wait let me guess… Breakfast is almost ready."

Duo gave him a huge smile. "However did you know?"

Heero hit several buttons and pushed his laptop away, standing as Trowa did and following Duo back to the kitchen. Wufei stood in the middle, whipping up breakfast with his usual efficiency. He looked up as three of his teammates came shuffling in and smiled serenely. "Ah, perfect. Trowa, you're just in time to flip the pancakes. Duo, you can squeeze the orange juice, and Heero, you should probably check and make sure the eggs aren't burning." When nobody moved he raised his spatula threateningly. "Move, people!"

"If you didn't have the ability to turn trail rations into a 5 star meal, I would not put up with your shit, Fei…"

Trowa looked at Wufei, smirking under his bang. "Who's the house wife now, Chang?"

Wufei ignored him, setting the food on the table and sitting down. Duo brought the orange juice and they all sat, eating silently. For twenty minutes, at least, they were going to pretend that it was a normal dinner in the Mess Hall. No war, no hostages, no Romafellar.

Duo was the first to finish, putting down his fork and leaning back in his chair with a sigh of contentment. The others soon followed,

Duo sighed and looked upset. "I'm worried about Quatre. I know he's the best one at strategy and all that, but people are going to _die_. He'll feel responsible and it'll kill him. It won't be as bad for us."

The others nodded, all suddenly grim. Wufei looked pensive, then spoke. "We should suggest that the plans be made separate of each other, and that not even he knows what everyone is doing. Then he has no tie to most of the deaths. We'll all be separate."

Trowa looked thoughtful, and Heero and Duo exchanged questioning glances. Duo then started nodding his head, half in satisfaction and half in amazement._Wufei's__ plan was actually good…_

"He'll object; want to know why. You know he won't just accept that idea."

Duo smirked. "Tell him it's so if one of us gets captured the others won't be in jeopardy. It's true."

Trowa nodded his approval. "He'll see the logic behind that."

Duo stretched, leaning back into the chair once more. "Well, that's settled. What are you guys planning to do?"

"We're going to destroy the base." There was an excited undertone to Wufei's voice that made Duo smile. Trowa just glared, reminded that _Wufei_ was the one who had commandeered all the explosives.

Wufei noticed the glare and gave Trowa a questioning look. "What's wrong now, Barton?"

"Quatre said that you took all the explosives."

A smile spread slowly across Wufei's face, causing Trowa to glare harder. "Aw, does lil Trowa want something that goes boom?"

"Yeah, real mature Chang…"

"Relax, you can have some." Wufei looked at Duo and Heero, who had been watching the exchange silently. "You guys need some?"

Duo shook his head while Heero remained motionless. Trowa gave Duo a skeptical look. "You don't want to blow anything up? _You_ don't want to blow anything up? I don't believe it."

Duo gave him a lofty look "We're sneaking in and watching how the soldiers guarding the civilians react to the attacks. We decided to leave that base alone for now, until we can do something with all the people."

Trowa shook his head and muttered, "I _still_ can't believe you don't want to blow stuff up."

"Hey, you're the one begging Wufei for explosives, not me."

"We need to blow up an Air Force. That takes explosives!"

"You're blowing up our Air Force?" Duo's voice sounded like he thought he'd heard the green-eyed boy wrong and Heero was staring at Trowa. Trowa simply nodded.

"It's in Romafellar's control, and it'll be a good distraction. It's a completely sound tactical move."

Duo snorted, looking from Wufei to Trowa with a huge grin. "And you guys say _I'm_ bad…"

Heero smirked and stood, looking expectantly at the other three. "Are we done?" At the three mute nods, he tugged Duo's braid lightly and walked out the door, leaving three of his teammates staring after him. Duo's mouth opened and closed several times before he managed to say, "I guess he decided the conversation was over."

Trowa stood, pushing his chair back in and grabbing his plate. "I guarantee you he's already back at his computer, working on the code." He threw his plate on the counter and headed for the door. "Which is what I should be doing."

Wufei watched Trowa leave before turning to Duo. "Clear your plate and come meditate with me." The braided boy nodded, following him downstairs. They found a quiet spot between Duo's Camaro and Relena's convertible and sat down. Duo mimicked Wufei's actions, settling himself and crossing his legs before balancing his arms on them. His breathing settled, slowly falling in time with his friends and he began to calm down.

o0o0o0o0o

Sally cursed mentally as another gust of wind nearly sent her flying. She was dirty, tired, hungry, sweaty, cold and wet, and she had been fighting her way uphill on a dirt bike for the last two hours. She was not happy, and now some mini-storm had picked up out of the larger storm still brewing overhead, bringing gusty winds and hidden slick spots on the hill, making it a slow treacherous process.

So much fun she could barely contain herself…

Her back tire slid on another hidden cold spot and she swore once more, wishing she had brought a hairdryer and some music.

As she started up the next incline, she sent up a silent prayer that Nissan-guy had topped off the dirt bike before she had left. She didn't want to have to walk back.

A/N (again):: I hope it's somewhat clear what the plans are, who's doing what etc… I'm trying to make it easy to understand.


	11. Stage One

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore. Anything in THESE talking on those walkie-talkie phones.

A/N:: As per Jess-eklom's review (my first one for this chapter, YAY jess-eklom) I have fixed the conversation with Sally and Wufei and Dorothy (essentially by eliminating it…) and I glanced over (skim-read) the chapter and I found the other bit, so that is all fixed.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Eleven – Stage One

o0o0o0o0o

Several hours later, after everyone at the base was settled for a final night's sleep before their missions, Sally had finally reached her destination. She stood on the top of the tallest hill, staring up at the three huge satellites framed in the dark light. The small storm had disappeared, leaving behind the larger storm clouds still brewing overhead, and they left little moonlight for her to see by. She grabbed a flashlight out of her pack, along with a small scanner and a notepad and walked the remaining few feet to her goal. She popped the rusted lock off the main panel and looked it over briefly. She grabbed two of the wires and plugged them into her scanner, hitting the power button and setting it on the screen. She dug through her pack for another moment, grabbing her laptop and a longer wire. She secured it to another port on the terminal and hit a button, then sat back. The scanner beeped first, letting her know it was done searching the systems. She picked it up and ran through some of the data, frowning at parts of it. After rereading it, she glanced at the laptop, scanning through parts of its information. Still looking unhappy, she walked over to the second satellite, breaking off the lock and opening it to stare at the wires critically.

"Fuck!"

She traced the main wire once more, then swore again. She didn't know enough about these systems to disable it effectively and subtly. She went back to her equipment, unhooking the scanner and packing the rest of her stuff as she waited for the laptop to finish. It finally beeped and she loaded it also, grabbing her pack and putting it on as she headed back to the waiting dirt bike. She paused once she had reached it, looking back at the satellites with a fierce glare.

All that work for fifteen minutes of studying the satellites, and now all this work to get back. As she sat on the bike and kicked it over, her thoughts changed gears. She started down the hill, praying that Heero would be able to help her with the satellites.

o0o0o0o0o

The morning sun broke over a small hill, struggling through the clouds overhead. Duo watched it rise as he packed the final provisions into the back of Heero's car. Heero was still upstairs, glued to a laptop which left him to make the final preparations for their little jaunt into the wilderness. Wufei and Trowa were having a quiet argument in the War Room about how many bombs Trowa got, and Relena and Dorothy were nearby, packing food and eavesdropping.

When Quatre walked out, dressed in full camouflage, Duo frowned and glanced around for some sort of reinforcement. Quatre, as always, noticed the look and fixed Duo with a piercing glare. "What?"

Duo tried to shrink back a slight bit. "We think you should stay here and command."

Quatre frowned and looked at Duo. "Why? I can be useful out there."

"I know, but you can't just jump into our plans. We've got everything detailed." Duo's voice was persuasive, and Quatre looked confused by the logic.

"Besides, we don't know when Sally will get back, and you should be here to get the information and send her out again." Quatre looked to Trowa, his eyebrows raised, and the green-eyed boy continued. "The satellites are important."

The blonde looked thoughtful, trying to find a flaw in their argument. Before he could formulate a suitable one, they all nodded and continued gathering their stuff. "We'll all be in contact."

Quatre bristled slightly and grabbed his phone, stalking off. "Fine. I'll be here, _waiting!"_

The blond fumed as he heard car doors slam and engines start.

_"Get caught"…" compromised"… _The blonde sighed. _All that__ means is I'm here while they could get killed._

As the boys drove away, Duo grabbed his phone and looked up their emergency frequency.

That was good, Barton. I never even though about Sally

Trowa looked in his mirror at Duo, who was nodding in approval, and smiled. Thanks, Maxwell. I noticed Chang was so helpful in that argument

Trowa smiled at Wufei, who was driving Dorothy's red SUV to his right. Wufei glared back and grabbed his phone nearly shouting, Hey, I noticed that you guys had it under control and didn't want to push it. Besides Wufei looked back at Duo's car and then continued in a calmer voice. Yuy didn't say anything either…

Heero glared at the car ahead of him and grabbed the phone from Duo. I _never_ say anything Chang. He would have been suspicious

Trowa's laugh rang out, causing everyone to smile. He's got a point, Wufei

Catherine and Relena began making faces at Dorothy, who was pantomiming shoving Wufei's phone down his throat.

They continued in a companionable silence for another hour before Duo grabbed his phone. Well, this is our exit. Later guys The car broke off from the group and turned left, beginning the long trek around the lake. The others said goodbye and traveled on. It wasn't long before Trowa flashed his headlights at Wufei.

This is where we head East. Good luck

Dorothy saluted them from the passenger seat and Wufei snorted. Luck is for the weak, Barton

Good hunting, then Trowa gave them a huge smile and even Wufei couldn't hold back his smile. He waved as Trowa, Catherine and Relena disappeared to his right. Dorothy and he continued north, driving toward the opposite end of the lake from Heero and Duo.

o0o0o0o0o

!!BEEP!!

The truck gave a hearty beep and Sally glanced down at the dashboard, startled out of her bored stupor. A small yellow light was flashing, one that resembled a gas pump.

"Fuck!" She looked around, trying to figure out where she was. The highway was deserted and dark, but she was nearing civilization. A sign flew by her on the right, La Grange, 2.3 miles, All Services. Perfect.

She pulled off and turned to the right, glancing at both gas stations. Pulling into the one with cheaper fuel, she parked the truck and shut it off before climbing out to inspect the pumps. They were still in good working condition, though not active, and the town appeared to be wholly intact. She walked into the small convenience store, grabbing her wallet out of a pocket as she hopped the counter. After pushing a few buttons on the register, it beeped and she swiped her credit card. After hitting several more buttons, she walked back out and proceeded to pump her gas. Once it had stopped, she put the nozzle back and headed back inside. She printed out two receipts, one for the absent clerk and one so Kushrenada could reimburse her, and then got back in the truck and hit the open highway once more

She had been on the road for almost an hour when she suddenly sat straight up. A car was coming her way. She hit the brakes, slowing drastically while the other car was hidden from sight. As she neared them, she recognized the headlights and a huge smile spread across her face.

Dorothy's SUV slowed as it passed Sally, and Dorothy waved. Sally waved back, smiling as she saw Wufei asleep in the passenger seat. Dorothy made a great show of checking a watch she wasn't wearing and being shocked at the time, then shrugged in apology and hit the gas. Sally waved once more as they passed, then hit the accelerator, once more flying back toward the base.

Two hours later, she pulled up in front of the main entrance to their hideout and the doors swung open. Quatre waved in greeting, motioning her in. She nodded her thanks and parked the truck. He had closed the doors and grabbed her a water bottle in the time it took her to grab her pack out of the back. He took a moment to admire the newly acquired dirt bike in the back and she smiled, asking him if he liked it. He smiled and nodded, waiting until she had deposited her things to talk business.

"Well, how are things?"

She shrugged. "Not too bad. I'm thinking we wait until the lightning hits, then hit the terminal with a shock. It should fry everything and it'll be impossible to tell the difference."

"I'm assuming they have something up there now to prevent lightning hitting it…"

"Yeah." Sally snorted derisively. "A lightning rod that grounds it."

Quatre raised his eyebrows at the antiquated method. "It's A.C. 198 and they're using twentieth century techniques?"

She nodded in amusement, continuing to talk as they headed into the War Room. "All I'll need is a taser or something of that sort for the main panel."

Quatre clasped his hands and looked heaven-ward. "Praise Allah, someone doesn't want to blow anything up."

Sally smiled, flopping into a chair and tugging her shoes off before looking at Quatre once more. "They all want to blow stuff up?"

Quatre nodded, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Wufei and Dorothy want all the explosives, and Trowa looked like he wanted to murder them. Surprisingly, Duo and Heero are the only ones who don't want any." Quatre shrugged and turned back to Sally. "So, you're good right? You'll fry the main terminal and they'll be down?"

She looked hesitant and continued only at Quatre's stern look. "They have secure hardwire links between the bases. Short of digging up the wires and severing them manually, I don't have the skill to disable them through the terminal. Even if I fry the main panel, they'll still have emergency lines."

Quatre stared at her for a moment. "Heero."

She nodded ruefully. "Yeah, I'll need Heero."

"Shit." Quatre paced as Sally frowned, trying to recall the last time she'd heard the blonde swear. "He already left with Duo."

"I noticed."

"They're out of range by now. You'll have to go get him. He and Duo are at Lake Victoria." Quatre continued pacing, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I'll have to go tell Trowa to go to Duo."

Sally nodded in agreement, then yawned so widely her jaw cracked. Quatre looked her over and pointed upstairs. "Go sleep for a bit. I'll iron out the detail before we leave." She nodded once more, grabbing her jacket and heading outside. She took a quick bath in the nearby river and re-dressed quickly. Despite the fact that it was midday, she called out "Goodnight," as she walked upstairs. Quatre waved and she headed into an empty room and collapsed on the makeshift bed.

A/N:: Again, I would like to make sure… Is everyone following this somewhat easily? I want to make sure you can follow the things that are happening. And thanks so much again to Jess-eklom for making me that much more obsessive with my proofreading. It's good to have a little help.


	12. A Sudden Change of Plans

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

A/N:: It switches between them, but everything is happening sequentially. There are a lot of things leading up the everything else…

Fight or Flight

Chapter Twelve – A Sudden Change of Plans

o0o0o0o0o

Heero and Duo were the first to arrive at their destination. They parked the car several miles away, hidden by trees and shrubs, and hiked the rest of the way in. They found a suitable cove nestled into the forest and set up a modest camp, consisting of a camouflaged tarp to hide their small space and Heero's ever present laptop. After quickly setting a perimeter, they retired to their hole Duo to go over the rough sketch of the base while Heero continued trying to process the code. The steady tapping made Duo's eyes droop, and before he knew it he was drifting off.

Heero barely looked up as Duo's head came to rest on his shoulder and the braided boy began to breath deeply. He glanced up at the noon sun, struggling through the cloud cover then shook his head at Duo's ability to sleep _anywhere_.

Heero glanced at his watch, frowning when he saw the time.

_The others should be in position by now._

o0o0o0o0o0o

Across the lake, Wufei and Dorothy were once again swaying in the trees, this time on the Northeast side, spying on the barracks.

"I think if we blow the barracks after the soldiers have come out, they'll be more likely to surrender. They'll feel they just cheated death, and think that we meant for them to die unawares."

Wufei nodded in agreement, but added, "What if it makes them feel invincible?"

Dorothy grinned evilly and raised her binoculars once more. "Nobody feels invincible when everything around them is exploding."

Wufei contemplated that thought for a moment, then nodded, looking once more at the base below them. His eyes found each guard, then scanned the building. "We'll need to free the cadets if we plan to hold the soldiers hostage."

"I know. I was thinking I'd sneak in early. You blow something important on the opposite side of the base, I pick the locks and free them. Then, hopefully they'll vacate the barracks, you can blow those and I'll show up with the cadets to take control of Romafellar's soldiers."

Wufei nodded, happy that he would be in charge of the explosives. "We can use the Generals to harry the captives. Make them listen."

Dorothy looked thoughtful. "You want to wait til nightfall?"

"Yeah. They'll be tired and relaxed."

The two settled in for a long wait, studying a small map and planning their explosives

o0o0o0o0o

Sally and Quatre grabbed their final bags and walked toward the cars. Quatre threw everything in the back of the Charger then looked at Sally, who was standing by him, looking at him expectantly. As his eyes met hers, she smiled.

"I'm taking the Hummer."

He looked at her funny. "Duo's gonna _kill_ you…"

"It'll make it up the hills better than the truck did. We'll get back way sooner." She smiled at Quatre. "Duo can bite me. It's not his Hummer."

"I guess… It's your funeral." He got in the car and waited as Sally pulled the Hummer around. Once she was ready, they pulled out o the building and arked, doubling back to close the main door and check that they were secured.

They hit the road, speeding down the deserted highway, once more headed north. As they reached the turn of, Quatre reminded her, "Just tell Duo that Trowa's on his way, and not to move."

"Sounds good, Boss." She waved and pulled off, flying down the side road. Quatre continued on, his car still the only thing moving in the dim light.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Trowa, Catherine and Relena were settling near the Air Force Base, weapons in hand. Relena was guarding the camp while Catherine helped Trowa don his infiltration gear, which was basically just solid black with a black weapons pack.

Once he was finished, he grabbed the rest of his supplies and waved a silent farewell, leaving Catherine and Relena to watch him go. The two girls hiked to the top of the nearest overlook and lay down to wait, binoculars in hand. It wasn't long before Relena had dozed off, leaving Catherine to glare at the blonde girl.

"Everyone leaves me to do all the work…"

o0o0o0o0o0o

Two hours later, it was to typing that Duo woke, more annoyed than comforted. He looked around, suddenly realizing the reason the typing was so loud; he was half draped across Heero, apparently using him as a pillow/blanket. He tried to hide his smile as his eyes found Heero's looking at him pointedly. He sat up, yawning and trying to fix his hair as Heero continued to look at him.

"You have a nice nap?"

The smile won and Duo grinned at Heero, nodding with sleepy enthusiasm. Heero rolled his eyes and turned toward Duo, an irritated look on his face, but he froze as he realized how close he was to Duo. His mouth opened and no words came out, much to his surprise. True he didn't speak much, but when he did he never seemed to have a problem with it.

Duo stared at him for a long moment, though what he was looking for Heero had no idea. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth quirked upward and he slowly leaned over and pressed his lips to Heero's. Heero was still, then as Duo began to pull away he leaned forward slightly, recapturing his lips. Duo moaned softly, practically inviting Heero's tongue to explore the insides of his mouth. And then, Duo pulled away, smiling sheepishly and tugging on his braid.

"Well, Happy Birthday, Heero…" And the sheepish smile turned decidedly perverted for a brief moment before Heero pulled Duo to him once more. Duo shivered, running his hands through the thick chocolate hair and trying to drown in his arms. Between the night sky, the camouflage tarp and Heero arms, he was able to forget where he was and just concentrate on the smooth body pressed against him. He ran his hands up Heero's side, gasping as he bit into the side of his neck. Duo moaned in pleasure, fiddling with the button on Heero's pants and nibbling on his ear

Suddenly there was a small cough and Duo and Heero pulled apart, startled. Sally stood looking down on them, amusement evident on her face.

Duo stared at Sally quizzically, like he wasn't sure it was really her. "Sally?"

"Uh, yeah…" She looked at him for a second then blushed slightly before turning to Heero. "We need to leave. I need your help with the satellites."

Both boys just stared, confused, then looked at each other. "I have to leave?"

"Am I on my own?" Duo still sounded confused and Heero frowned at the thought of leaving Duo alone… of leaving a comrade behind.

"Trowa is on his way here to help you, but we need to leave now." A cloud rumbled menacingly above as if to prove her point. "The storm's coming, we need to go."

Heero nodded and motioned toward the direction she had come from. "Get the car. I'll be there in a sec."

She began walking back down the path, and Heero turned to Duo, a searching look in his eyes. "Are you going to be alright?"

Duo gave Heero a huge smile. "C'mon Yuy, I'm always good." His eyebrows raised suggestively and Heero looked at Duo for a moment, a faint blush threatening his cheeks.

"Right… Trowa should be here soon. Don't go back in the base until he gets here."

Duo made a small shooing motion. "Relax, mom, I'll be fine. Go with Sally."

Heero grabbed his pack and laptop, his eyes caressing Duo for a brief moment before he followed Sally's direction.

Duo sat there for approximately five minutes before he stood up and glanced in the direction his two comrades and left in. "Sit and wait for Trowa my ass… All I'm doing is looking around a bit." He grabbed a small pack and got ready quickly, packing his gear and dressing in solid black. He checked the path once more, just to make sure they were really gone then began his walk to the base. He made it in the same way he had the first time. Slipping through the early twilight, he found a deserted hallway and slid down it, trying to find a vantage point to observe any commanding officers.

He found a small service ledge on the far wall, deep enough in shadow that he would feel invisible. Just as he was taking one last look, footsteps sounded in the corridor outside and peoples voices got gradually louder. Duo wasted no time in pulling himself onto the ledge, sinking back into the shadows as two men walked underneath. They left, and he proceeded to wait, hoping to catch the soldiers reactions when Wufei and Dorothy's base blew.

o0o0o0o0o

Quatre whistled softly as he flew along the road, further north than Sally. He was nearing the Air Force Base, and Trowa, and it felt great to be out of the Base and doing something useful. He pulled into the woods and parked next to the Batmobile. Grabbing his gear and walking into the woods with a decided spring to his step, he began to look for the others.

He found Catherine and Relena lying on a small cliff top overlooking the base, Relena still asleep and Catherine monitoring the base. He walked up and Catherine rolled over and waved hello. Relena woke as Quatre asked, "Where's Trowa?"

Catherine motioned toward the base. "He's in mapping the explosives and getting our chopper pilots. Why?"

"Sally needed Heero to go with her to do the satellites and I was going to send Trowa to partner with Duo…" He paused and looked at Catherine and Relena. "I don't suppose either of you want to work with him?" Both girls shook their head and Quatre sighed. "Is there any way you can get him to come out sooner?"

Both girls shrugged and Quatre looked in the direction of the base.

Inside, Trowa was perched on a high ledge, watching the officials guarded below. They were milling around in discontent, muttering to themselves and others. He stayed a moment longer, then crept toward the pilots holding cell. Pausing in a deserted air duct, he checked his phone, which had been on silent since he neared the base. As the screen lit up an alert appeared.

_04… Quatre_

He tucked the phone back in his pack and turned around, trying to make it to the nearest exit. Making his way swiftly ast the mediocre guard posted throughout the hallways, he slipped outside. Winding his way back to the woods as quietly as he could, his mind ran over the many things that would have caused Quatre to call him. As Trowa made it up the hill where the girls sat, he was instantly relieved to see him sitting next to Catherine, talking animatedly and completely unharmed.

As he watched, Quatre turned to look at him, smiling though Trowa hadn't thought he'd made any sound to give away his presence.

"What's going on?"

Quatre sighed and motioned for Trowa to sit. "Sally needed Heero's help with the satellites. She went to go get him from Lake Victoria, and I need you to go help Duo with his mission. No one should be out alone and Catherine and Relena don't want to do it."

Trowa nodded, rising and stripping off his outer layer of black clothing. He left it with Cathy and said an extremely brief goodbye before following Quatre back down the path.

They walked in silence, not speaking until they'd gotten into Quatre's car and set off for the main road. It was then that Quatre turned to Trowa and said, "I'm going to the base with you and Duo."

Trowa sighed internally and prepared himself for battle. "You know you shouldn't."

Quatre's hands tightened on the steering wheel and he took a deep breath. "I don't understand why you guys don't want me going out on missions."

Trowa gave Quatre a sympathetic smile. "Can we talk about this later? I'm kinda tired."

Quatre blushed and waved at him. "Oh, of course. You should sleep, especially since you have to deal with Duo later."

Trowa smiled his thanks and laid back in the seat, pretending to sleep and trying to come up with an argument to get the blonde to not accompany him.

Quatre took another deep breath and was silent as they drove south.

o0o0o0o0o

Catherine and Relena watched Trowa leave, unhappiness clear on their faces.

"I can't believe he didn't make a map…"

"I can't believe he didn't get us pilots."

"I can't believe I have to go do all the work." Catherine sighed loudly and grabbed Trowa's pack. "Well, I'll be back Dorlian. Don't fuck anything up."

Relena sneered at her and pushed her toward the base. "Hurry up and get yourself caught, Bloom."

o0o0o0o

Heero and Sally finally drove over the final chain of hills before their destination. The satellites came into view, nearly masked by the night sky. The further north they got the harder it was raining, and Heero was napping in the passenger seat. Sally once more checked her rearview mirror, double-checking that her dirt bike was still strapped to the back. They were going to grab Heero something to ride once they reached the hills.

Heero lay, comforted by thoughts and memories of Duo, his heart beating as he recalled the taste on his lips. O0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Charger stopped in the same spot Sally's Hummer had once occupied. Trowa "woke up" and yawned, blinking at Quatre. Quatre however, was not going to let his previous argument be ignored.

He turned to face Trowa, who sighed once more, clearly unhappy. "It's later, and I want to know why you guys want to keep me at the base. I have the same training you do!"

Trowa gave the blond boy a small smile. "I know, but we need you to plan everything. If something happens to you, we're all screwed." As Quatre remembered Catherine's comment about Trowa saying he was brilliant, Trowa looked back at Quatre. "Besides, I'd feel better knowing you were safe."

Quatre swallowed hard, unable to look away from brilliant green eyes. Trowa leaned forward slowly, one arm reaching around to brush the side of Quatre's face. When Quatre showed no sign on stopping him, he lowered his head, brushing Quatre's lips gently. The blonde sighed, closing the distance between them and reaching one hand up to run his hands through brown hair.

As they separated, Quatre smiled and whispered, "This doesn't mean I'm going to listen to you."

Trowa's eyes sparkled with laughter. "I wouldn't dream of it. But you know I'm right about you being the smart one…"

"There was never any doubt of that." And Quatre kissed him once more on the lips and shooed him out of the car.

Trowa got out, head still reeling from the kiss. He waved at Quatre, who drove away with a small smile on his face. Smiling to himself, Trowa began the long trek through the woods, passing Heero and Duo's car and continuing deeper into the woods.


	13. Things Go 'BOOM'

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

A/N:: Again, it is in the right order, but changes around.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Thirteen – Things Go 'BOOM'

o0o0o0o0o

Duo yawned, stretching as much as he could and looking around. Nothing had moved in his section of the base in the longest time and he was beginning to think he had picked the wrong spot. He yawned again and was reaching for his watch when he was pulled out of his bored stupor by faint voices. They got nearer and he straightened, leaning forward as far as he dared.

"They're all dead?"

"Yes sir. All the soldiers and the remaining civilians over ten."

"Good. What did you do with the children?"

"They've been moved to the outskirts of San Silvia, ready for evacuation to Romafellar."

"Excellent. Go send Tuberov a message informing him of this."

"Sir."

As Duo's mind registered the meaning of those words, a coldness gripped his heart. He stared at the man pacing through the room, his eyes glowing dully as he contemplated his next course of action.

Once the men had left, he dropped to the ground, landing quieter than even he thought possible. A quick search through the compound revealed that the only remaining people were in Romafellar uniforms. His mind burned with a singular purpose, propelling him toward the hidden weaponry rooms. He found a small door near the back, hacked the keypad with a frightening ease and carried out the few things he would need.

He moved methodically through the base, attaching explosives and detonators onto anything that would burn. All this he wired to one remote; three buttons and an on/off switch. Once he had reached his exit point, he spared one last look in the General's direction. He smirked and bowed mockingly, then headed for the hills. He turned the remote on and hit the first button. The small box beeped as it scanned the area for the explosives that had been wired to it. It gave another small beep, telling him that it had found them and he smiled grimly. He hit the second button, and ran for dear life. When the expected twenty seconds had passed, Duo paused and watched the bombs detonating. The base exploded like fireworks, bright red in the rising sun. The sound reached his ears several seconds later, a deep ripping sound that rang in his ears. He watched, numb, as the base was blown to smithereens, soon becoming a fiery graveyard for those inside.

In the woods surrounding the compound, Trowa looked to the sky then quickened his pace, desperate to reach Duo.

At the sound, Quatre lost his smile and stared in shock as the base exploded, the buildings, vehicles, anything and everything that was remotely flammable burning violently.

"No… Duo? What have you done?"

Flames rose from the wreckage, and it appeared nothing would survive that attack. Farther north, several more explosions went off, but Quatre was expecting those. Wufei and Dorothy were right on time.

o0o0o00o

There were two large explosions and opposite ends of the Lakeside base burst into flame. The offices and storage rooms burned furiously as Romafellars men ran to put out the fire. Dorothy slipped down the hall, opening the doors as quickly as she could reach them. Disoriented boys and girls spilled from the rooms, each looking around and recognizing their fellow students. Dorothy moved to the center, whispering to those around her what was happening, and what they were going to do. They slowly quieted, organizing and talking softly amongst themselves.

Dorothy glanced at her watch then hurried down a side corridor, followed by the older cadets. She silently blessed whoever had stashed the cadets right by the armory and began to grab weapons, anything useful that she could find. The others followed suit, bringing them back and distributing them amongst the rest.

Glancing at her watch, Dorothy signaled for silence. "Does everyone know the plan?"

A sea of shadowed heads nodded affirmatively and she held up a finger.

A series of small blasts sounded from behind her, one after the other. The group broke into a collective run, trying to reach where the soldiers were.

They burst out into the rain, running through the outer yard and taking the soldiers by surprise. Wufei had watched as the buildings had burst into flame. The soldiers poured out of the barracks and as soon as the flow had stopped, he pressed another button and a series of smaller explosions occurred throughout the emptied rooms. The soldiers all paused and watched their sleeping quarters ignite before being urged back into action by the officers. Within minutes, the men had the fires contained, and some semblance of order had been restored.

He was contemplating detonating the barriers when Dorothy and what appeared to be most of the cadets suddenly emerged from a large gateway, taking the soldiers by surprise. Within minutes, the soldiers had been pulled in closer and set under heavy guard.

Wufei pressed a smaller button and a small pop was heard from inside the building. Within a minute several older men emerged, followed by a small group of younger looking men. The Generals and Lieutenants surveyed the situation and then spoke amongst themselves. The oldest finally broke away from the group and stepped forward.

"Who's in charge here?"

Wufei watched from his vantage point, wishing desperately that he could hear what they were saying, as the entire group of cadets and prisoners somehow melted away from Dorothy, leaving her standing alone near the side. She looked around, scowling at the others then walked toward the General. Once she was near him, she paused and bowed eloquently.

"Dorothy Catalonia, of the Sanc Royal Court." The old man looked startled, glancing behind him at his comrades before facing her once more.

"How do I know this is true?"

Dorothy gave him an innocent smile, straightening and trying to hide a smile. "It doesn't really matter whether you believe me. We're in control of the base."

She ignored the old man's look, instead motioning to Wufei to join her. He dropped from the roof, making his way over to her slowly. When he'd reached her, he leaned over and whispered, "What'd you tell him?"

"To roll over and play dead."

He rolled his eyes and looked over at the Generals. "You shouldn't piss them off too much. We want them to control the base so we can go home."

"So, go talk to them, Mr. I'm-So-Reasonable."

She watched irately as the Chinese boy walked over to the Generals and began to converse with them in a hushed tone. After nearly five minutes and several glances over their shoulders at Dorothy, he finally left the circle and returned to Dorothy.

"General Quay has agreed to take command of the base, provided he can use the cadets until further notice."

"That's fine, he can have them… I don't care." Dorothy dismissed the whole matter with a wave of one hand, giving Wufei a bored look. "Can we go home now?"

o0o0o0o0o

"Leave me to do all the work…can't even make a proper map, or get the pilots or something useful…Nope, I have to do everything…" Catherine grumbled to herself as she crossed the courtyard slowly. "Twelve years at an elite military academy, and he can't even draw a map." She held the small bag in her teeth as she pulled herself over the outer wall and walked slowly across it, cursing her brother with every silent step. As she busied herself searching the premises and distributing things from her bag, she continued cursing Trowa, eventually switching to the others just for kicks.

Catherine searched through the rooms, eventually finding one containing only seven men. They all looked the same as the others, except for their beaten, yet distinguishable flight uniforms. She slowly removed the vent, placing it softly behind her before dropping silently to the ground. The man nearest to her was awake, she could tell, though he hadn't moved. The other six were still asleep, so she whispered, "Look at me," and raised her arms in the universal sign for _I come in peace…_ The man rolled over slowly, his eyes darting from her black clothes, to the mask on her face and the small bag she carried at her side. He then looked at her face once more and sighed.

"How old are you?"

She glared at him through the dark, displeasure evident in her voice. "Eighteen, how old are you _fucker_?"

"Relax, lady. Why are you here?"

"Tell me you're not the helicopter pilot," she demanded, glaring at him.

"I am. Why do you care?"

She ignored him completely, motioning to his sleeping companions. "Who's the other one?"

He looked her over once more, hesitating slightly before pointing to one of the men. "Evans, over there."

"Wake him up, quietly. I need you two to come with me, without the other pilots knowing."

She motioned for him to go and he stepped closer to her. "Now look here lady, I am not at your beck and call. Who are you, and where do you want us to go?"

She pulled up her face mask, smiling curtly as he looked her over. "I'm from the Academy. Some of us didn't get captured and we're trying to fight back. We're blowing the airplanes and taking the helicopters, which is why I need you and Evans to come with me."

He stared at her, as if he could determine if she was lying if he looked long enough. "How many of you are there?"

"Hopefully two more than yesterday…"

He made up his mind, moving silently toward the still sleeping Roy Evans, of the Eighteenth Flight Division, affectionately nicknamed the Hellraisers. Roy Evans woke with a start, though thankfully without making a sound. When he saw Reed motioning for him to be silent and follow him, he barely missed a beat before picking his way through the sleeping men. Catherine was surprised when he merely raised an eyebrow at the sight of her, looking from her to the other pilot questioningly. She motioned for them to follow her, pointing them up the air vent before following, replacing the screen before directing them back out. They dropped to the ground behind a large shed, where both men turned and looked at her.

"Anyone care to explain why I'm missing my beauty sleep. Who are you?"

Catherine took off her face mask and smiled. "I'm Catherine. Call me Cathy"

The two men exchanged a look, then turned back to her. "Well Cathy, you want to tell me what's going on?"

"Your friend over there can tell you what's going on. Right now, we have some helicopters to steal."

Evans grabbed her arm as she started to move away, pulling her back toward him. "What was the panic earlier, when the explosions happened?"

"That was the other parts of our rebellion attacking the other bases. Can we go now?" She failed to mention that only one of those explosions was supposed to have occurred, and that she wasn't entirely sure what had happened at the Lake Victoria Base. There was silence as the pilots exchanged one more look, then followed Cathy toward the airstrip. As they made their way over, she could hear the first pilot explaining what she had told him earlier.

She found Relena near the largest bomber, giving her the sign for 'friends' when Relena saw the pilots. The three ducked into the shadows and sat still, looking at Relena. "Dorlian, this is Evans and…" she paused, pointing to the first pilot. "I don't know your name."

"Patrick Reed. Thirty-second airborne, the Trigger Happy. At your service."

"Right, Reed." She looked at Relena. "I need to go back in and finish planting the bombs. Take them and try and get in position to run for the helicopters. Ten minutes, whether I'm there or not." Relena nodded though she didn't look happy and Catherine gave the others a crooked smile. "I'll be back."

She watched them leave, then made her way back toward the base, sneaking in easily. She slipped through the shadows, placing her remaining presents in their spots and making sure they were armed correctly. She finally reached her last destination, depositing her final item and pressing a small button. She looked at her watch and swore at the time. Seven minutes til they blew, and she needed to find Relena. She dropped to the ground and sprinted across the open tarmac, praying that no one would see her. She reached the outer buildings and paused to glance around. Three figures were walking across to the helicopters, looking around furtively. Catherine turned in that direction, catching Relena and the pilots just as they'd reached the choppers.

Each pilot headed to a helicopter and got in, preparing them for flight. Relena and Catherine stood in between them, trying to agree on a plan.

"Go get Sally and Heero!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll get the Generals out of here." A bullet whizzed over her head and she ducked, followed shortly by Catherine.

"Dorlian, you're insane! They're big boys, they'll survive… Get your ass out of here!" Several more bullets flew by and she threw Relena a look that clearly said _See what I mean?!_

Relena sighed, knowing it was useless. "We'll both get Heero and Sally."

Catherine nodded her agreement quickly and watched as Relena waited a moment before lunging into the helicopter, which rose suddenly. Cathy ducked her head as Relena took off, waiting another long second before glancing around for her chopper. She began edging behind her, trying to determine the shooters location. Just as she was about to stand, a bullet buried itself into the concrete through her lower arm. She stared at it, mouth hanging open for what felt like forever before she came to her senses.

"Fuck _this_!"

She stood and sprinted to the helicopter, throwing herself in as it began to rise. They flew off, heading straight after Relena. She cradled her now useless arm, trying to ignore the pain as the pilot glanced over his shoulder in worry. Both helicopters hovered just out of reach of the plasma cannons, the girls arguing over the vid-link.

"You need to go have Sally look at your arm! I'll stay and see what happens with the base." She ignored Catherine as she started to protest. "Then I can go get Heero and take him to Duo. You know something went wrong with that mission. They weren't supposed to blow anything up."

Catherine glared at Relena, still unwilling to leave. "I want to see what happens. We need to analyze their responses for future encounters."

"And as I said, I will do it. You need to go see Sally."

Evans gently pushed her out of the way, settling her on the seat and turning back to Relena. "I'll take her there, she's practically falling down as it is, she won't argue. We'll see ya, Reed."

The other pilot saluted and disconnected the link, and both passengers watched Cathy's chopper fly northwest.

Reed turned the helicopter around and settled them with a better vantage point as Relena counted down the minutes. She finally looked up expectantly. "Right… about… now…" and the side door opened. Romafellar's hostages, the Generals, Lieutenants and soldiers came out, sleepy and disgruntled looking, just as they had the time before. Reed saw Relena look over at the planes, and suudenly there was a rocking explosion and two of them flew apart.

Romafellar's hostages wasted no time overrunning the scant guard. The hardier Colonels and Lieutenants had grabbed guns from the guards while the Generals bellowed orders at any soldier who would listen. The third plane exploded in a rain of fire and metal, the fourth not long after. Bits of flying plane landed on the outer buildings, starting small fires. Relena stayed back, watching the pandemonium with a grim face. Reed stared at the scene, slightly awed that two teenage girls had caused it to occur.

Both occupants were startled when large rain drops hit the windshield. They had been so preoccupied with the drama below, they had forgotten the imminent storm. Even though it was only raining lightly, the winds picked up making the helicopter sway unsteadily. Relena decided that Sanc's military elite (or whatever) had it somewhat under control and headed after Cathy.

They were nearing the hills when the weather turned downright ugly. Lightning lit the sky every couple of moments and both pilots were flying as low as they dared. They rain was pounding the sides and it whipped across the windshield, making for a slow trip. Below them, the trees were blowing, though it was hard to tell if the helicopter was being pushed by wind or the sheer force of the rain.

o0o0o0o0o

As Relena and Catherine were fleeing their base, Sally and Heero had reached the halfway point; the clouds had fully thickened and large drops of rain began to fall. The wind picked up considerably, throwing Sally's hair around frantically. Despite the violent weather, Heero and Sally continued their long trek up the hill. As they neared the top, the rain had thickened to sheets and the overhead thunder rumbled in an increasingly loud tempo. Heero's quad slid to a halt as he rounded a corner, followed shortly by Sally's bike. They sat and stared at the chain link fence in front of them, blocking their immediate access to the satellites. They shut off their vehicles and left the gear on top of them, scaling the fence easily and heading the rest of the way up on foot. They reached the massive satellites and stood still for a short moment, letting the rain pound them and the wind whip their clothes and hair.

"We need to time this right!" Heero was yelling in Sally's ear and she could still barely hear him over the wind and thunder. She nodded and took off her pack, rummaging through it for the tools she was going to need. The storm roared overhead, and lightning began playing through the air, lighting up the sky in short flashes before striking another spot. She opened the maintenance panel and began tinkering with the controls. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Heero typing something into his laptop before disconnecting several wires and plugs. She switched several wires and the panel beeped, warning her of a potential overload. She ignored it, rummaging in her pack for one final item. She switched it on and waited patiently. Soon, a large bolt of lightning hit the antenna positioned to shield the satellite. She watched as the electricity ran off into the ground, leaving the satellite unharmed, then grinned, jamming the taser into the control panel and activating it. A jolt of electricity surged through the wiring, frying those she had switched into place and short-circuiting everything else. Warning screens flashed across the display as fast as they could before everything jammed and a permanent error message showed. She reached for her borrowed phone and hit the connect button. The phone beeped and she held it to her mouth, saying, "Testing, emergency frequency, inter base communication down. Screen says electrical short-circuiting. Hopefully they'll think lightning hit it."

A moment passed and the phone beeped again. Quatre's voice came over, "Roger that. Good job, Doc."

She lowered her phone and watched as Heero reported to Quatre as well. He closed his laptop and walked over to her. "You get rid of the communications?"

"Yeah, they can't communicate between bases and it's impossible for anyone outside of this country to get ahold of anyone still in. You plant the bugs?" He nodded. "You ready to go?" His answer was to walk back down in the direction of his waiting quad. She followed him down the path, still fighting the raging weather.

They climbed onto their vehicles and went sailing back downhill. Sally guessed they'd been riding for ten minutes or so when she began to hear a steady whir over the roar of the engines. Heero suddenly dove to the left, under a large tree and stopped. Sally followed him, shutting off the engine and pulling off her helmet to look at the sky.

A large black helicopter was flying toward them, coming from the direction of the Air Force Base. They stared at it, unsure of what to do.

"It could be a squad to check the satellites." Sally sounded doubtful.

Heero stared at it a moment longer. "Catherine and Relena were supposed to be taking over Lowe. Maybe they sent it to pick us up. "

"Why don't you go flag them down and ask?"

They watched as the first helicopter landed quickly as another one appeared on the horizon. The door flew open and the pilot jumped out, motioning for Sally. Catherine appeared behind him, one arm a dark red color and Sally's face paled. She rushed toward them, with Heero close on her tail. The second helicopter neared as Sally reached Catherine, rushing her back to the helicopter and ripping her shirt sleeve off. Heero watched Sally inspect the wound, barely noticing when the second chopper landed and Relena appeared at his side. She watched Cathy for a second then winced and turned back to Heero.

"Lake Victoria blew up earlier."

Heero froze, his eyes closing for a long moment before he slowly turned toward Relena. "Duo?"

"Last I heard, Trowa couldn't find him." She motioned toward the waiting chopper. "He also doesn't know his sister's been shot. She'll go with Sally back to the base and we'll go find Duo and send Trowa back to see Cathy." He nodded, relaying the information to Sally before climbing into the cockpit next to the pilot and strapping his seatbelt. Relena got into the smaller back and closed the door, ignoring the slight lurch in her stomach as they left the ground.

They split, Heero and Relena heading southwest while Sally and Catherine continued south.

o0o0o0o0o0o

"All three bases in the area exploded. Lake Victoria went first, around twilight, and the Lakeside Base blew just after that. After dark, maybe ten minutes ago, the Air Force Base blew." The voice was soft and deep, though distinctly female. "Yes… Yes… I _know_…"She sighed deeply. "It probably _was_ him, at least one of them." She glared at the phone in irritation, resisting the urge to beat it against a nearby tree, then put it back up to her ear. "Relax, Ma… I'll find him. I would have followed someone from the explosions, but I haven't made it that far into the country yet." She held the phone away from her ear as shouting ensued from the other end. When it ceased, the girl looked at it warily and brought it to her ear once more. "Just tell Great-Uncle that Sanc has been infiltrated by Romafellar, though I'm unsure how tight their hold is, considering things were exploding not too long ago." She paused, inspecting a fingernail and ignoring the voice on the other line. "Yeah, Ma. Tell him that if he's got any brains, he hasn't gotten himself killed yet, and that I'll find him." She began to yawn, then paused as the voice scolding her suddenly stopped. She frowned as she looked at the phone, hitting buttons and glaring at it when it beeped.

"What happened to the signal I tapped into?" She continued muttering to herself as she checked the device. When it continued telling her that no signal could be found, she frowned and hoped that Great-Uncle didn't send the army in after her.

After pondering for a moment, she shook her head and moved about, setting up her meager camp for the night.

o0o0o0o0o0o

A/N:: Whoo… Another chapter done. I figured I'd release it soon (and make it a bit longer) since when I wrote it, it was part of the last chapter, and they kind of go together. I would also like to give another huge thanks to my wonderful reviewers. It makes me happy. (I know, such a bland way of admitting that I'm a review whore…) Twenty points to anyone who can guess who the mystery person is… (and possibly a prize if I can think of anything good.)

And thank you, once again to jess-eklom, since it seems my typing has developed tourrettes.


	14. Aftershocks

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

A/N:: Again, it is in the right order, but changes around.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Fourteen – Aftershocks

o0o0o0o0o

Trowa paused as a helicopter flew overhead, then doubled back and landed near him. By the time it deposited Heero on the ground, Trowa was in the trees, his plasma rifle leveled at the rotors. Heavyarms, as he had named it, had more than lived up to the Professor and Duo's promises, and Trowa was grateful.

He dropped to the ground as Heero passed by him, the blue-eyed boy not looking surprised at Trowa's sudden appearance.

"Where's Duo?"

"I don't know. I hadn't reached him when he blew the base." Trowa sighed, gesturing at the surrounding woods. "He hasn't been back to the camp, he isn't answering his phone, and I can't find him."

Heero took in Trowa's pale face and the exhaustion lines around his eyes, then gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Take the chopper back to the base. Catherine got shot. I'll look for Duo." Trowa's face paled further and he looked at Heero in shock. "Don't worry. It's not bad, just her arm, but she wants to see you."

He nodded, gripping Heero's shoulder in wordless thanks before heading toward the chopper. Heero watched as Reed introduced himself to Trowa, then the bird flew away.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Duo lay with his back to the wall, eyes staring blank holes into the wall across from him. The rain fell in a steady stream, and despite his meager shelter he was beginning to get wet. He was surrounded by the wreckage, and he was _tired. _His mind was the only thing still partially functioning, slowly turning circles in his brain.

How many? How many people? He'd lost count.

And how was he supposed to know how many people he'd killed when he couldn't even remember what day it was?

What day was it? What month was it even? How long had it been since they got back from their camping trip?

Duo winced slightly, his mind hurting. He owed it to them to at least remember how many he had killed, even if he didn't know who they were. What if he forgot even one of them? How many were his fault, how many the others' faults?

No, it wasn't his fault. They'd killed the civilians. Defenseless people. They deserved to die, even if he was the one to bring Death to them.

It was here that Heero found him, nearly tripping over him as he searched frantically. He grabbed the limp boy by the upper arm and dragged him upward, shoving him toward the waiting getaway car.

When Heero unloaded him into a chair in the base, he suddenly looked around and realized everyone was staring at him expectantly.

His mind, slowed, searching for the proper words to convey everything that had happened.

"They were dead, all of them."

Quatre sat down next to him, looking at him warily. "Who was dead?"

"Everyone. They killed 'em." Duo paused to take a deep breath and steady himself. "The soldiers, the civilians, they're all dead. And now them that killed 'em are dead too."

Quatre stared and both Heero and Trowa looked away. It had been years since they had heard him slip into street talk. Duo said nothing further, and none of the boys wanted to break the silence. It was Sally who finally asked, "How many?"

Duo shrugged, shaking his head. "I don't know. The only ones left in that building were Romafellar."

They sat around the table, silent and somber. Quatre's mind raced, trying to understand everything that had happened that day. Relena, Dorothy and Wufei were sitting on the far wall, looking more dead than awake, and Trowa and Heero flanked the still quiet Duo. Catherine was upstairs, sewn up and drugged out of her mind so she could sleep. Sally was still with her, monitoring her progress.

"We should go to sleep." Wufei sounded tired, and everyone else agreed with the sentiment. As they all rose and wandered off, Heero made sure to take Duo with him, pulling him through the motions of getting ready for bed. They found a small room away from the other, pulling the sleeping bags closer and settling in for the night.

Quatre stayed downstairs, ready to stand guard as the others slept. Relena and Dorothy retired to a room, yawning and tripping over their own feet. When Quatre walked upstairs to check everything, he found Trowa in a chair next to Catherine, typing on a laptop and watching over his sister. Sally lay in a bedroll in the darkest corner, sleeping heavily. Wufei sat on the floor to Trowa's left, legs crossed and face serene.

Quatre stuck his head in and nodded at Trowa and Wufei. "Couldn't sleep?"

Trowa ignored the question and Wufei moved the slightest bit. "Not after what I did today. I will be shocked if Maxwell sleeps a minute tonight."

Quatre nodded, staring off into the distance for a moment before looking at Catherine. "How is she?"

Trowa finally moved, looking up from his computer to look at his sister. "She's… sleeping." He sighed heavily and looked at Quatre for the first time. "Sally says she should be alright, as long as she doesn't get a fever. It didn't hit anything truly important, but she'll have trouble using that hand."

Quatre nodded silently, filing the information away and refusing to feel the pain he knew it should bring. He looked at Catherine, pale and still on the makeshift hospital bed, unable to believe she had truly been shot. It seemed so… surreal.

_It's like Duo used to say, back when he was young… '__they__ain't__playin__ no more…'_

Quatre turned and left, checking Heero's improvised security room before going downstairs once more.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Duo tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. He finally ended up completely entangled in his sleeping bag. He growled and kicked himself out of it, lying in the cool night air wishing he could sleep. Heero lay beside him, staring at the ceiling and wishing he could get more than ten minutes of sleep at a time. Sighing, he rolled over, unzipping his sleeping bag and pulling the braided boy to him.

Duo hesitated, then relaxed into the warm embrace. He was finally beginning to relax when Heero's chest rumbled. "What was the worst part?"

Duo stiffened, pulling away slightly as he thought about Heero's question. He finally leaned back into the embrace and mumbled into Heero's warm shirt, "When I heard they'd killed the civilians." Duo paused, snuggling further into the blankets and sighing. "I felt like someone had to be Death and I was the only one who would."

Heero tugged his braid lightly and wrapped his arms around him. "You weren't the one who started it."

"I know." Duo yawned loudly. "It really isn't that big a deal. Go back to sleep, you've still got some time before we need to be up for the day."

"Get some sleep, Duo."

Heero felt Duo's heartbeat and breathing slow, lulling him closer to sleep. As Heero finally drifted off, Duo cracked an eyelid and looked at his bedmate critically. Satisfied that at least Heero would be able to sleep, he began to breath evenly, trying to lull himself to sleep. He finally managed a meditative state that Wufei would have been proud of, but he knew it was useless. Once morning came Duo realized it was _definetely_ pointless and poked his head out of the blanket, looking Heero over once more. After deciding that he was still sleeping, he slid out from under Heero's arm and covered him back up quickly. Heero frowned and burrowed into the warmth, still sound asleep. Duo took another moment to look at how… innocent he looked, shook himself out of his reverie. He crept out of the room, and along the hallway, thankful that Heero was never as aware once he was truly asleep.

Duo made his way downstairs, grabbing a sweatshirt and looking for Quatre. He found the blonde sitting in the War Room, his feet proper up on the table with a large mug of coffee in his hands.

"Hey, Quat." Quatre looked up as Duo walked into the room and flopped into a chair. "Whatcha thinkin?"

Quatre smiled faintly, looking Duo over from beneath his bangs. "Not much. Just thinking about what happened yesterday."

"Interesting day, huh?" Duo leaned back and rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the tension. When he was done with that, he grabbed the end of his braid, fiddling with the end of it as he looked around the room. Quatre watched him, a questioning look in his blue eyes.

"You alright, Duo?"

Duo looked at his friend and smiled wryly. "No. I'd be lying if I said I was. But I'm better than can be expected. It's like Wufei told me, 'people do crazy things during crazy times.'" Quatre raised an eyebrow at the very un-Wufei phrasing and Duo smiled. "Or something like that, but probably about warriors."

"That sounds more like him."

Duo smiled and sprawled out further in the chair. "So what's new with you, Q? Anything exciting happen today, that I should know about?" Something about the way that Quatre said no made Duo pause, and he fixed Quatre with a piercing glare. "Nothing? Not one, single thing happened today that made you pause and think, 'hmm… I should tell my good friend Duo about this later'? Are you sure?"

Quatre gave Duo an exasperated look and sighed. "You are such a pain sometimes!"

"I know, but you love me and still want to confide in me…"

Quatre mock-pouted for a moment, then grinned. "Trowa kissed me…" When Duo only stared at him, Quatre blushed faintly and looked defensive. "It's not like it's a huge deal or anything."

A slow smile spread across Duo's face and Quatre began to look nervous. "Soooo…" Duo raised his eyebrows and grinned. "How was tall dark and handsome?"

Quatre glared at him, his blush deepening. "Duo! It's not like a big deal. It was just…" The blush faded and Quatre's smile got decidedly perverted, "…good."

"Quatre!"

"What? You said you wanted to know!"

"I guess I did." Duo gave a soft laugh, shaking his head in amusement.

"Ahem!"

Both boys turned to see Heero standing in the doorway, arms crossed with an unhappy expression on his face. Wufei stood behind him, looking sleepy but curious as Quatre looked at Duo questioningly and Duo raised his eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"You can't even tell me you're leaving?" Duo's eyebrows quirked slightly, clearly encouraging Heero to elaborate. "The morning after you go postal and blow up a whole fucking army base, I wake up to find you gone. I thought you'd killed yourself!" He gave Duo a severe look and didn't look happy when the braided boy didn't look sorry.

"One kiss does not make you my mother Yuy!"

Quatre glared at Duo, hissing, "You kissed him? And you were giving me a hard time for Trowa!"

Heero's gaze didn't shift from Duo but Wufei's eyes flickered to Quatre. "What happened with Trowa?"

Duo smirked and looked over at Quatre. "Q-bean played a little baseball today…" Wufei gave Duo a questioning look before turning to Quatre.

"You and Trowa are engaging in recreational sports at a time like this?"

"Well, they only had time to get to first base."

"Duo!" Both Quatre and Heero gave Duo an admonishing look and Duo tried to look apologetic. Wufei was grinning, looking at Quatre with something akin to glee.

"You two have finally gotten around to it then?"

Quatre glared at Wufei. "Don't be a chick, Wufei. Stop gossiping and go away."

Wufei ignored the poke at his manliness, choosing to add, "I'm not the one kissing boys, Winner."

Quatre growled in frustration, finally bursting into laughter and shoving Duo off his chair. "Like you weren't making out with Heero. You guys are dumb." Duo looked at Wufei and Heero and nodded loftily before Quatre poked him in the stomach. "You are too, Maxwell."

Duo tried to look injured but only succeeded in looking like a drowned cat. He suddenly stopped smiling and tried to look serious. "So there's an astronaut, right?"

The other three groaned loudly, but Duo continued. "And he has this really little head, almost like that shrunken head guy from Beetlejuice. Now, he really likes this lady astronaut and he eats lunch with her every day. And every day, he asks this lady astronaut if she'll go out with him. Every time, she tells him 'No, I don't date guys with small heads.' Finally, one day she asks him how his head got to be so small. He tells her, 'When I went into space, I found a bottle on the moon. When I rubbed it, a genie came out and told me I could have one wish. I told him that I wanted him to turn into a woman and have sex with me. He told me it was against the rules to have sex with a genie, but he would still grant me another wish. Well, I told him if I couldn't have sex with him all I wanted was a little head'."

Quatre laughed out loud, and Heero and Wufei just shook their heads. There was a brief silence, then Sally's voice sounded from the other room. "Duo… That was horrible!"

She walked in several moments later, giving Duo an incredulous look. Trowa followed her, looking pale and tired, and sat next to Quatre, collapsing onto the couch and dropping his head with a dull thump. Quatre gave him a sympathetic look then glared as Wufei and Duo both smiled.

Sally ignored them, yawning and sitting next to Duo. "So what's the plan today?"

Quatre sobered, relaxing back onto the couch and mimicking her yawn. "We need to go find Skyfire. We need all the help we can get."

Duo raised his eyebrows, giving Quatre a dubious look. "And you're planning on finding him how?"

Quatre sighed. "If he's half the General they say he is, he'll figure out that Romafellar wouldn't blow up our bases with _their_ soldiers still in them. I was going to have us spread out and just walk around. Hopefully he'll find us."

Duo looked satisfied with the plan. "You're learning, Q."

"Well, I'm glad it meets your approval, Duo…"

Trowa made a small snorting sound and rolled over, causing Quatre and Duo to laugh. Relena and Dorothy walked in, took one look at Trowa and yawned at the same time.

Relena sat next to Sally, yawning for a second time and motioning to Trowa. "Was he up all night with Cathy?" At Sally's nod, she looked upset. "What're we doing today?"

Quatre stood and paced the floor, looking like a young, blonde General addressing his troops. "Today, we need to move throughout the vicinity and let Skyfire find us. The thing with Cathy just proves, we're in over our heads, and we need allies."

Relena looked around then looked at Quatre. "Where'd the pilots go?"

"They parked the choppers on the Academy's archery range, and they're holed up in the caretaker's cottage. It was the only hidden field I could think of for the helicopters." Everyone nodded, not particularly interested in where the two men were stashed. Quatre rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion. "Everyone go get ready, we head out in a half an hour."

o0o0o00o

Once upstairs, Sally found that Catherine was finally awake, slowly eating the broth that had been left next to her. Sally set around the room, changing Cathy's bandage and filling her in on what she had missed the day before.

"Once we left the hill, that was when you passed out. Relena and Heero had to go get Duo, and I needed to get you back to the base to look at you." Sally paused to hold up a glass of water for Catherine to drink, then set it back down and continued. "It was a good thing you guys got the helicopters. If we'd had to take… Oh, crap!" Sally groaned and smacked her forehead lightly. "I left the Hummer up in the hills… Duo's gonna kill me."

Catherine managed a weak smile, watching as Sally freaked out. "I doubt he'll mind. He's got more important things to worry about."

Both girls' smiles faded as they remembered what had happened.

o0o0o0o0o

Sorry the character wasn't revealed. It's a bit later in the story line, but I am still welcoming guesses if anyone wants to try again. Thanks again to phoenixfirekitsune, snowdragonct and jess-eklom for the kind words.


	15. Finding Skyfire

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Fifteen – Finding Skyfire

o0o0o0o

Despite much glaring on Heero's part, he was paired with Relena, and Duo was out wandering around with Quatre. Dorothy and Trowa were in a different part of the city and Wufei had been left at the base to assist Sally, resulting in much glaring on his part as well. Quatre, finally sick of everyone glaring at him, had grabbed Duo and simply left, leaving the others to do as they had been told.

The two boys were walking through a small patch of forest near where they had found Relena and her group. Quatre had no real idea where Skyfire would be, but figured if he didn't tell anyone, they'd look harder.

Quatre and Duo had agreed that it would be best to just walk around, talking loudly and trying to make noise. If Skyfire was there, he would most likely be watching, and it was unlikely that Romafellar had suddenly decided to patrol the forest near the ruins of where the girls had been hidden. Unfortunately, Quatre thought for hundredth time, after two hours of walking around, Duo had decided to center the conversation on Trowa, mainly so he could torture Quatre.

"I wonder if his hair stills defies gravity when he's asleep…" Duo gave Quatre a thoughtful look and continued walking. "I mean, does his hair do that naturally or is it just a _lot_ of hair gel?"

"I kissed him, Duo. I didn't suck his memories out of him… I don't know."

Duo looked unimpressed. "All I got from that was you did more kissing than talking and that makes you a…" What it made Quatre, the blonde boy never found out. A cool surface pressed against the back of his head and he froze. Duo stopped talking just in time to hear the loud click that followed.

_Safety being released…_ Duo's brain supplied as he turned to see a gun leveled at the back of Quatre's head. He still hadn't moved, and the look in his light blue eyes indicated that he knew what was against his head. An arm extended from the shadows behind him, gripping the handgun that was still pointed at Quatre's skull.

"Arms up," a gruff voice demanded from the shadows and both Duo and Quatre complied. "You boys got any weapons on you?" As both nodded, the old man stepped out from the shadows, revealing a tall figure and a shock of red hair, and Duo was extremely relieved to see that the old man was smiling.

"You from the Academy?" Quatre nodded, and both waited as the General looked them over once more. Quatre breathed a sigh of relief when the gun was lowered and Noventa flicked the safety and holstered it. "I don't suppose you know where everyone is?" The boys' faces clouded over and as Quatre searched for the right words to explain the situation, Noventa noticed and sighed. "That bad, huh?"

"We were hoping you'd find us sir."

Skyfire looked at them for a moment then smiled slightly. "It wasn't easy. If my boys hadn't heard the explosions I don't think we would have known you existed. There more of you?"

"Yes sir. We're hiding out in the North Point."

"Well then, I guess we'd better join you."

The old General grinned savagely and raised two fingers. Eight men in deep woods camouflage suddenly appeared from the scenery, grim faced with their guns still drawn. None of them looked thrilled to see the teenagers. Skyfire turned and glared at the mutters, raising his voice. "Think of the dishonor men, if we were to leave these young soldiers unattended and unaided." One of the men grumbled something that sounded like, "not a fucking babysitter…" and Skyfire turned bright blue eyes on him.

"Shut up, Trant. Men, fall in!" The soldiers formed ranks and followed Noventa and the boys to their cars.

Duo drove back to the base, followed by Skyfire and his men in two large camouflaged Jeeps. As they neared the others, Quatre sent out messages on the radios telling them that Skyfire had been located. Wufei greeted them with a shotgun leveled at the road, only lowering it when he saw that it was Duo driving. He showed the soldiers where to park their vehicles and then led them into the War Room, pointing to the seats.

When Quatre entered, Skyfire was sitting at the head of the table, his soldiers standing at attention behind him. He sat a couple seats down from the General and waited patiently as the others slowly arrived and took seats. Finally Duo came sauntering in, taking the seat closest to Skyfire and giving him a huge smile.

"What's up?"

The General stared at him for a moment, then cleared his throat and looked around the table, effectively ignoring the braided boy. As Duo pouted, Skyfire looked at Quatre and raised his eyebrows. "What's the plan?"

"We have five days, roughly, until Duke Dermail arrives from Romafellar, supposedly with reinforcements and supplies."

"And we know this how?"

"Trowa and Duo snuck into Barge and spied on them." Quatre's voice held the slightest hint of a challenge, daring Noventa and his men to question his claim. Sure enough, the soldiers looked at each other and smiled, and even Noventa got a small twinge at the sides of his mouth.

"You boys snuck into Barge? Impossible." Skyfire shook his head. "Barge is Sanc's greatest military stronghold. It is impregnable."

Quatre nodded agreeably. "That is true. And, in its defense, I'm sure Romafellar doesn't know how to operate it properly. BUT, my boys did sneak in there, and the fact is, we have five days to seize control of Barge." He gave the General and his soldiers a calm smile. "Any questions?"

There was a brief pause in which Quatre leaned back, looking smug and the others all looked proud. Skyfire sat thinking for a moment.

"What's the status on the surrounding bases?"

"Lakeside is currently held by a group of Generals and most of the cadets. The Air Force Base is partly destroyed, but still under Romafellar control, and several high ranking officials are being held hostage there. Lake Victoria is completely destroyed."

Skyfire quirked an eyebrow but refrained from asking how Lake Victoria had been demolished. His eyes landed on Duo for a brief moment and when the boy stared back, Skyfire looked back at Quatre. "How are you planning on getting into Barge, let alone taking it over?"

Wufei, Heero, Trowa, Duo, Relena, Dorothy, Sally, Catherine and every one of Skyfire's soldiers looked at Quatre, curious to hear if he had a plan. The blonde hesitated, startled by the sudden attention then took a deep breath.

"I was thinking we would sneak everyone in, have them in different parts of the compound and start taking out people quietly. From what we know of the layout, it's very spread out, and no one is supposed to carry any projectile weapons. Most fights in that building will be done hand to hand, and that gives us an advantage. It is quiet, and requires more skill. Every single one of us has been trained in combat, and now is a good time to put that knowledge to use. By the time they realize anything is happening and try to mobilize troops, we should have thinned out the guards and been able to get cadets in there as firepower. We need to have a decent grasp on Barge when Dermail gets here." Quatre sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I believe that battle will have more opportunities to get shot."

Skyfire nodded, leaning back as well and crossing his arms. "Well, it looks like we're going to be spending a bit of time with each other. Men, set up a perimeter and begin guard detail. Now that we have increased population in this area, we must help defend it. It is part of guerilla warfare. Broden, make a note of that."

The boys all hid smiles as one of the men whipped out a notepad and began scribbling while the others saluted. Once Broden was done writing, they all turned and walked out, grabbing their supplies and setting about their tasks. Once Skyfire was convinced they were doing as he ordered, he turned back to Quatre.

"Where are Kushrenada and Merquise?"

"As far as we know, both are still being held at Barge. It would help us if we could free them before the battle."

The General nodded thoughtfully, looking at each of them in turn. "Who else is at Barge?"

Trowa leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table and looking bored. "Tuberov is there."

General Noventa gave him a piercing look. "You the one who supposedly got into Barge?"

Trowa nodded. "Tuberov was talking to a man, General Quinze. He said that Duke Dermail was on his way, and that they both were acting on behalf of the Council." Trowa thought over the conversation once more then shrugged. "It sounded like Tuberov and Dermail don't like each other."

Skyfire only nodded, refusing to say whether he believed him or not. Quatre wasn't entirely sure that Noventa believed Trowa and Duo had gotten into Barge, and he wasn't giving any sign that he'd changed his mind. Sure enough, Skyfire grunted and turned a suspicious gaze on Duo.

"Let me guess, you're the other one." When Duo nodded, Skyfire grunted again and Duo could have sworn he'd rolled his eyes. "It's always the annoying ones…"

"Hey! You don't even want to hear what I did?" Duo gave him an innocent smile and Noventa frowned.

"Alright, boy. What'd you do?"

"I talked to Professor G."

Every single one of them stared as Skyfire's jaw dropped in shock. He stared at Duo for several seconds, unable to think of anything to say. Duo looked immensely proud of himself, growing happier with every second the old man looked amazed.

He finally gathered enough wits to close his mouth and glare at Duo, though the boy looked unrepentant.

"What are you talking about?"

Duo smirked. "When I was leaving Barge, I ran across one of their prisoners, bout yay high, big nose, bigger hair. Ring any bells?"

Skyfire shook his head, but remained silent.

"Yeah, he said he was from the Academy, on the Board of Directors in fact…" Duo paused and gave Skyfire a scrutinizing look, before continuing on in a pleasant tone. "I'm sure a General like you knows all the inside information. You know who I'm talking about."

Skyfire looked at all of them, from Quatre's curious gaze to Trowa and Wufei's bored indifference to the girls looks of confusion then gave them a look that was half defiant, half suspicious.

"So what if I do? You're just kids, why should I tell you?"

"We're all you've got." Dorothy's voice was confident. Beside her, Relena and Sally were nodding in agreement, and even Wufei was nodding slightly. General Noventa thought her statement over, then shrugged.

"I suppose you're right…" He sighed and looked out at his soldiers, who were still milling around. "I certainly can't defeat Romafellar with that bunch of yokels…" Skyfire straightened his shoulders, sitting up in his chair and looking at Quatre. "Well, tell me everyone's specialty."

Quatre gave him a blank look then started. "Oh, right. Well…" The blonde motioned to his left, "Trowa does infiltration and deals with weapons. Relena, standing on the other side does weapons with him. On your right is Duo, who does infiltration and blades, and handles the transportation." He pointed to Wufei, adding, "Wufei does explosives and close quarters weapons, knives, swords and such, as does Dorothy. Catherine is Trowa's sister; she's the one sitting in front of Sally, and she does infiltration and knives." As Quatre pointed at Catherine, Noventa's eyes flicked over her pale face and the bandage on her arm, though he remained silent. "Sally, standing behind Cathy, is our medic and one of our tech people, and Heero, on Wufei's left, is our computer and technology expert, and our sniper."

Skyfire was silent for a moment after Quatre finished, as if he wasn't sure he was done. When all the cadets just looked at him, he cleared his throat. "Well, I think your plan has potential. We'll need to talk it over and fine tune it, but for now I think you should train. You all know you have weaknesses. We have minimal time to prepare for our battle, but you must use what you have." All the cadets nodded obediently, feeling as though they were back in school for a brief moment. Realizing that Skyfire was done, they stood up and walked around. Sally grabbed Cathy's good arm and tugged her toward the stairs, while Heero left the other way, in search of Duo no doubt. Trowa followed Relena and Dorothy out of the room and Quatre was about to follow when Skyfire gripped his arm.

"You and I need to talk, son. Not right now, but soon."

Quatre nodded and left the room, not looking forward to the talk at all.

o0o0o0o0o0o

A/N::Just wanted to let you know that Skyfire is a nickname for General Noventa. The names will be used interchangeably, but it's the same person. The nickname is from a Tamora Pierce book.


	16. Visiting Hours

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore

Fight or Flight

Chapter Sixteen – Visiting Hours

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Oh man…" Duo gave a loud groan from his spot on the floor, where he was currently sprawled. "I am beat. I don't think I could move if my life depended on it."

Quatre had told them all to practice something, then grabbed Relena and Dorothy and disappeared into a room. The rest of them had paired up and practiced hand to hand combat, which meant Trowa had been trying to kill Duo for the last three hours, while Heero and Wufei took the more sedate approach and practiced sword patterns.

A door opened and Duo moved his neck just enough to watch Quatre follow Relena and Dorothy out of a room. He was just opening his mouth to ask what they had been doing when suddenly there was a loud knock on the front door. Despite Duo's earlier threats of immobility, he was up just as quickly as the rest, grabbing a handgun from the floor. Trowa grabbed a larger gun, Heero and Wufei picked up their swords and Relena and Dorothy pulled semi-automatics from somewhere on their person. Trowa quickly climbed to the sniper spot in the front entryway, while Heero and Duo positioned themselves on either side of the door and Wufei took a guard position behind Quatre. Relena and Dorothy stood further back, both looking tense as Quatre squared his shoulders, double checked his gun, then swung the door open. Five guns and two swords aimed at the small Chinese girl who stood on their doorstep.

"Meiran?" Wufei lowered his sword and motioned for everyone else to do the same. "What in Nataku's name are you doing here?"

Quatre raised one eyebrow and looked back at him. "Friend of yours?"

Wufei mumbled something that sounded like, "Ex-girlfriend," and grabbed the girl by the arm, dragging her inside and motioning for Duo to shut the door behind her. He pulled her to the small table in the corner and set her quite forcefully in a chair, glaring down at her. "Why are you here?"

"Is that anyway to welcome a messenger from your father?" She was returning his glare and Duo was looking from one to the other like it was a tennis match. "Your dad got worried when Kushrenada missed their vid-conference, and when he couldn't get in contact with anyone in the country he sent me to check on you." She smiled smugly. "I'm just confirming that you haven't managed to kill yourself yet."

"Onna…" Wufei took several deep breaths, trying to center himself. "Tell me he hasn't sent the army in after you."

"No. But when I arrived on the edge of the city I saw the wreckage and managed to radio out before all signal was lost." Heero had the decency to look slightly sheepish. "I am also to tell the adorable blonde boy that his troops have been mobilized, and they are on their way to provide backup. It is unclear however, if they will reach the city in time."

Quatre grinned. "How did they know?"

"When I contacted Wufei's father to tell him of the cities fate, he said that he would call your father and let him know. They are being flown in on the Winner jet, but it can only get so close without alerting Romafellar."

Quatre looked at Wufei, confused. "I didn't know our fathers were on speaking terms."

Wufei looked as puzzled as the blonde. "Neither did I. My father is notorious for his dislike of foreigners. Kushrenada is the only reason I was allowed out of our home, let alone our country to study."

At this point both Duo and Trowa were staring from Wufei to Quatre, to Meiran, and back to Wufei. Heero looked like he wasn't particularly interested in the conversation though the girls were watching with interest. Duo had finally had enough of being clueless and spoke before Meiran could continue. "Who is '_they__'_? How could Wufei's dad send an army after him? I thought only the Clan Leader could command the army." His gaze went from Wufei to Quatre. "And your dad has a jet?"

"'_They__' _are the Maguanacs, my own personal guard while I'm home. They'll be helpful when we attack Barge."

"Ok… How could your dad command an army?" Duo's glare shifted to Wufei, who squirmed slightly. Meiran opened her mouth, but Wufei held up one hand to silence her.

"No, it is time." He paused, considering his words. "I have not been completely open with you, and for that I apologize. You see, my father can command the army because he _is_ a Clan Leader. I am First Heir to the Shenlong Clan." Four mouths dropped open almost simultaneously while the Relena and Dorothy looked unimpressed, and Wufei rushed on. "He sent me to St. Noventa's to train under Kushrenada before I was bound to the clan and had to stay home and learn how to rule. He has an unspoken alliance with Kushrenada, and Sanc, which is why I am allowed to be so far away from home without any guards."

There was a brief silence as everyone tried to process that information, then Quatre spoke.

"So let me get this straight?" He sounded scarily calm. "Not only do I have to worry about planning a war, my explosives expert is a prince?"

"Well, that is not the title that we use in my homeland," Quatre's glare caused Wufei to shift slightly, "but, essentially, yes."

"What would your father do if I got you killed?! My dad would have no choice but to hand me over to him for peace. If he didn't there would be no way to avoid a Blood Feud. My nation and yours would be killing each other for decades."

"I am sure if I died the honorable death of a warrior, my father would be proud, as would my country."

"If I died, my father would shit a brick! Thirty kids and I am the only male. I was sent to St. Noventa's to learn to protect myself, not get myself killed." Duo looked startled at the blonde's outburst, making a big show of scooting away from the irate boy and causing everyone to laugh. Quatre looked at Wufei, still glaring, but with decidedly less anger than before. "I guess if you die I can pretend I didn't know you."

Wufei smiled. "That works."

Duo gave Quatre a questioning look. "Shit a brick'? Since when do you swear?"

Quatre rolled his eyes and gave Duo and Wufei an exasperated look. "Since you guys drove me to it." When Duo looked like he wanted to argue, Quatre turned and started to walk away. "I'm going down to the river. I will feel like a whole new man once I'm clean."

Duo ran after him, while Trowa and Heero followed at a slower pace. Relena and Dorothy wandered off upstairs, leaving Wufei with Meiran, who had watched the whole exchange with a small smile on her face.

"Are they always this wild?"

Wufei rolled his eyes and motioned for her to follow him. "You have _no_ idea."

o0o0o0o0o

Quatre floated on his back, staring up at the still cloudy sky, barely visible through the tree canopy, with a blank expression on his face. He could hear Duo trying to splash Heero and Trowa somewhere to his right, the sound of water interspersed with threats from his intended victims.

"Wuffers!"

Duo's shout alerted everyone to Wufei's appearance, which was soon followed by splashing as he waded into the water. There was a moment of silence and Quatre waited expectantly. Soon there was a loud splashing noise and Quatre closed his eyes.

_Here we go…_

"God dammit Maxwell!" Wufei sounded irate and Quatre could imagine the glare on his face. Sure enough, he took a deep breath and added menacingly, "If you do that again, you will be the first casualty in this war."

Duo laughed loudly, as Duo always did. "Wu-man, don't think just because you're heir to some big clan or something that I won't dunk you in the river next chance I get."

That sentence sparked a huge water fight, dragging everyone in. Duo hid behind Heero, and was splashed solidly by Wufei, who looked entirely unrepentant. When Heero tried to get him back, the Chinese boy ducked underwater, coming up by Trowa and getting him completely soaked as well. One green eye glared at everyone, while the other was covered by dripping bangs, and just like that Trowa was involved. He managed to get both Duo and Heero, but missed Wufei entirely. On his second attempt he accidentally nailed Quatre, causing the blond boy to sputter out of his drifting reverie and turn an evil look on his teammates.

All five emerged breathless and soaking wet twenty minutes later, Duo complaining about his squishy sandals and boxers.

"Soooo uncomfortable… It's not like I've never mooned you guys before…"

Wufei groaned, but it was Trowa who answered. "You want some big-ass fish swimming up and violating you?" Duo's eyes widened and he shook his head silently. Trowa looked at Wufei. "That and we don't all want to be forced to look at that."

Wufei nodded. "Unlike you, I do not walk around with my eyes permanently attached to Yuy's ass."

Duo stopped walking and stared at him. "Ouch… That wasn't nice." He rolled his eyes and looked back at Quatre. "You _know_ Yuy has a great ass…"

Quatre motioned that he was staying out of it and Duo looked back at Heero. Despite being the topic of discussion, Heero still wasn't paying attention to the conversation. He continued on up the hill, ignoring the chatter. Duo noticed that he wasn't stopping and hurried to catch up, bypassing Quatre and Trowa and grabbing Wufei in a chokehold.

"I'm telling you guys... I'm still holding out for Wuffer's gayness… There's something about the ponytail."

Wufei glared up at him and tried to find a dignified way to wrestle himself out of a chokehold. Finding none, he stabbed Duo in the side with his hand. The braided boy jumped, releasing Wufei and clutching the abused ribs.

"Like I said Maxwell, I don't walk around ogling boys…" Wufei looked at his other teammates. "Why do we _all _have to be perverted?"

Duo gave Wufei an injured look. "I am _not_ perverted just because I'm gay."

Wufei rolled his eyes and sighed. "Heero looks at you like he's ready to jump you, Trowa and Quatre are looking at each other like they're going to rip each other's clothes off at the next convenient time, and at times I would _swear_ you'd started having conversations with Yuy's butt." He smirked. "You're not perverted because you're gay; you're perverted because you're _you_."

"I'm not sure whether I should be appeased or more upset…" Duo did indeed look confused. Heero was still ignoring the conversation, as was Trowa, but Quatre was a pale red color.

"Uh-huh… And why is _your_ ex-girlfriend showing up at our base in the middle of a war?" Quatre picked up the pace as he saw the building through the trees, eager to get into dry clothes and get his talk with Skyfire over with. "It's not like we're throwing a housewarming party, Wufei! How do I explain that to Skyfire?"

"Ask Skyfire to explain how she got past his new guard detail! Besides, it's not like I sent her an invite… The women in my culture just…know things…"

"Excuse me?"

"They know things they have no right knowing… I don't know what it is. My ma's got it, Meiran and her mother and sisters… It's a little creepy."

Quatre gave him a dubious look, but Duo had been listening to their conversation with interest.

"Maybe I should ask her if you're gay…"

Wufei looked up, glaring at Duo before starting toward him threateningly. Duo smirked and took off up the hill at a fast walk, trying to act as if he wasn't running from Wufei.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

A red SUV sped down a small dirt path, traveling until it reached a small paved road. The vehicle turned, accelerating down the road for several minutes before it hit civilization. After one final turn the truck headed east, becoming a small shadow in the setting sun.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Ducks the flying tomatoes I know it wasn't really fair to have the mystery character be someone who isn't really in the series. So my contests suck… I was going to have this part be way later in the story but I figured I'd made you wait long enough.

I tried to be nice…

I was going to update The Driver before I updated this one, but I worked out part of the plot on this and got a little inspiration so here it is, and I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for reading, especially my wonderful reviewers. You're the reason I sit and chip away at the writer's block.


	17. Fixing the Holes

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore

Fight or Flight

Chapter Seventeen – Fixing the Holes

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

As the boys reached the top of the hill, still laughing and joking, they turned the final corner and ran straight into two of the soldiers. The men made a point of ignoring them, instead giving the soaking boys a critical glance and continuing past them. Duo turned and flipped them off, while the others looked indifferent.

"I cannot believe how juvenile they're being…"

The other four gave Duo an incredulous look and Trowa rolled his eyes. "You are hardly one to talk, Maxwell."

As they walked into the building, a loud whistle pierced the air, causing them to jump and look around for the source of the noise. Skyfire stood on the second story, looking over them with a small smile on his face.

"Whenever you're done changing, we need to talk Quatre."

Quatre nodded, heading for the clothing pile with a resigned look on his face. The others followed, quickly changing into camo pants and black t-shirts. As they were finishing up, Meiran came walking in wearing a traditional Chinese dress and slippers and looking bored.

"Are you almost finished, Wufei?"

Skyfire looked down at the sound of her voice, pausing briefly to give Meiran an inquisitive glare. "Who're you?"

She gave him a formal bow and smiled prettily. "Meiran, sir."

The old General 'humphed' and shot Wufei a dirty look. "In my day, we didn't invite our girlfriends to visit us at the secret base."

Wufei choked. "I did not invite her! She just… showed up."

Skyfire gave her another, longer glance. "Well, in that case..." A small smile tugged at his lips. "I hope you're more fun than your boyfriend over there." And Skyfire walked back into the room, ignoring Wufei's look of shock and Meiran's unladylike snort.

The Chinese girl walked away, still laughing quietly and after a moment Wufei followed her, while Quatre climbed the stairs looking as if he was going to an execution. Duo, Trowa and Heero went into the War Room, sitting around the large table to find something to pass the time. Quatre watched them, wishing he could be with them instead of facing the legendary General. He entered the main room to find Skyfire watching the surveillance monitors with interest.

"Who did all this?"

"Heero. When we went out to gather supplies, he managed to hack into the city's traffic cameras and hardwire them through to here."

"Has Romafellar been on the move?"

"Not that we've seen. We try to keep someone up here most of the time, but it's hard. We need every person we have. They're all useful elsewhere."

Skyfire nodded absently. "That's right, he's the computer expert." As Quatre nodded, Skyfire turned to face him. "When you told me everyone's specialties earlier, you left yourself out. What do you do?"

Quatre smiled wryly. "I sit at home and knit."

Skyfire snorted. "Let me guess… You make the plans so they keep you here and don't let you fight."

Quatre nodded, sitting in a chair and relaxing visibly. "They keep telling me they'd all die if I got killed, but I can't stand being safe when they're out risking their lives." He rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the headache that had plagued him since they'd returned to find the city wrecked. "I feel like I can't make decisions because they're my friends, but at the same time, I have to. Otherwise we might _all_ be killed. I'm going crazy."

o0o0o0o0o0o

Wufei found Meiran sitting in front of one of the cleaner windows, sipping a mug of tea and alternating between watching the soldiers and reading a book. She looked up as he sat down, giving him a questioning look.

"Where have the girls gone?"

Wufei stared at Meiran blankly, clearly confused. "What girls?"

"The two with the semi-automatics. I have not seen them since you left for your bath and I came back downstairs."

Wufei looked left… then right… then looked back at Meiran. "I don't know?"

She gave him a disgusted look and stood. "I cannot believe you didn't even realize they were gone. What have they been teaching you at this fancy academy? Needlepoint?"

And she set down her book and left the room before Wufei could respond. He stood, glaring at the door and remembering how annoying she could be, before following her back into the main room.

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Are you having problems?"

Quatre looked over at the old man and grimaced. "I've got a cadet that's secretly Dermail's granddaughter, my explosives expert is a Clan Heir, his _girlfriend_ just managed to find the secret base, the happiest guy in my group blew an entire base to smithereens last night, my blades expert is shot, one of my weapons experts is her brother and my other one feels guilty for getting her shot, meaning neither of them are any help, _and_ my only medic is exhausted from treating a gunshot wound. I still have to plan a war on a supposedly impenetrable fortress," Quatre rolled his eyes. "And to top it all off, your soldiers think I'm a joke because I look twelve."

Skyfire smiled, pearly white teeth showing through his red beard. "Let me deal with my soldiers. What you are experiencing is responsibility; the permanent headache that comes with having command. It is what you do with that task, and your soldiers' lives that will determine whether you are a great commander or a stupid one. I was that way once, a long time ago, but I can help you with your problems." Quatre looked up, hopeful and the General smiled once more. "You have to dissect the root of every problem you just listed and try and fix it."

"How do I know what the root is?"

"Look where all the problems start. There's nothing you can do about the girl getting shot. It's happened and all you can do is deal with the repercussions. Take Dermail's granddaughter. How did you find that out?"

"Trowa mentioned it. Said that she was related to him, but that he had 'tested her' and he thought she was legit. I trust Trowa's judgment, but I can't help worrying."

"Well, I saw the girls leave, but you can always talk to Trowa. Ask him what happened. A couple questions can save you a lot of worry."

"That's a great idea, General Noventa, but you do not know my schoolmates. Nothing with them is ever easy." Quatre sighed melodramatically and Skyfire laughed.

"The next lesson is to take help when it is offered."

Quatre nodded. "I will definitely need your help, sir…"

"Go talk to your boy and report back to me. We'll go from there."

Duo and Trowa were in the War Room, locked in a bitter game of Rummy, cards and insults flying while Heero watched in interest. Quatre paused at the door, unsure of how to broach the subject.

_Well, he never said I had to be subtle…_

"How do you know Dorothy isn't a spy?"

Duo paused in mid-gloat, looking from Quatre to Trowa suspiciously. "Dorothy's what?"

Trowa set his final cards down and said, "I win," before turning to Quatre. As Duo stared at Trowa in shock, Trowa sighed. "After I heard Tuberov and Quinze talking about it in Barge, I talked to her."

Duo, Quatre and Heero all raised their eyebrows, clearly not accepting that as a good enough explanation.

"I pulled her aside and told her that Dermail had offered me a fortune to return her safely, and that I would get her out of Sanc and into Romafellar. She pinned me to the ground and threatened to snap my neck before I could convince her that I was just kidding."

"And you believe she was telling the truth? We were in our f_irst_ year when we were all taught to lie without any tells. It's not like she couldn't have been lying to your face."

"I know that, Quatre, but what else can we do? It's not like we can execute her and ship her back to Dermail in a shoebox, just on the off chance she's a spy. All we can really do is keep an eye on her and make sure that she doesn't have an opportunity to fuck us over."

Heero spoke, interrupting the glaring contest that Quatre and Trowa were having. "Trowa has a point." Quatre shifted his glare to Heero, then realized that he'd never win against the blue eyed boy. "We can't go around killing our schoolmates, Quatre and you know it. You kill Dorothy, then Wufei's going to want to kill Duo, Dorothy will kill Wufei for fun, etc. and it'll never end."

Wufei entered the room, looking curious. "Why would I want to kill Duo." He gave the braided boy a questioning look, then shifted it to Quatre. "And how can Dorothy kill me when she left with Relena while we were at the river? Where did they go, Winner?"

Quatre gave him a defiant look and crossed his arms. "Separation of plans, Chang. You don't need to know where they went or what they're doing." They all looked surprised at the harsh tone his voice held but he ignored them. "It doesn't concern any of you. You can't just jump into our plans. We have everything detailed."

Duo frowned as his words from earlier in the week were thrown back at him and the others looked like they weren't sure what to do. Before any of them could say anything, Quatre turned and walked away, leaving his teammates staring at each other in shock and disbelief.

o0o0o0o0o

Just to let everyone know, I need to take my laptop in to get looked at so I won't have any of my notes for either story. I'm hoping it won't take that long, and I will try and write chapters out so I can update while it's gone but I can't promise anything. This is the first warning, but I _will_ update The Driver before I take it in.


	18. Earlier Than Expected

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Eighteen – Earlier Than Expected

o0o0o0o0o

"Are they really gone?" Duo gave Wufei a questioning look, having recovered from the shock of Quatre's outburst and stormy exit.

"As far as I can tell, yes." Wufei took a seat between Trowa and Heero, resting his elbows on the table and resting his head in his hands. "I have no clue where they are."

"Did they take a car?"

Wufei raised his head enough to give Trowa an irritable look. "What?"

"Did. They. Take. A. Car?" Trowa rolled his eyes. "If they took a car, they probably went someplace far away, versus if they walked."

Wufei shrugged. "How the hell should I know? Ask the used car salesman over there." He nodded toward Duo, who shrugged in return.

"I guess we can go check."

Heero paled visibly as Duo got up and walked out of the room, causing Trowa to smirk.

"You and Sally left the Hummer didn't you?" When Heero nodded mutely, Trowa's grin widened. "I saw it missing yesterday. I can't believe he hasn't noticed yet."

"You think he'll believe it was Dorothy and Relena?"

Trowa only laughed and Wufei gave Heero a disdainful look. "Disgraceful, Yuy. Afraid of the braided idiot and trying to blame it on the girls." Heero glared at him, causing Wufei to snort. "That shit doesn't work on me Yuy. You've never met my dad." He stood and pushed his chair back, stretching before looking at Trowa. "You want to go see his reaction when he sees it gone?"

Trowa stood, nodding emphatically. "Lead the way, Chang."

"You guys are cruel."

"Hey. It isn't often that you fuck up, Yuy." Wufei nodded in agreement and Trowa continued. "I, for one, want to enjoy it."

They made it out into the garage are just in time to see Duo's jaw drop. He was staring at the empty space next to the school jeep, a look of utter disbelief on his face, and Heero winced. Both Trowa and Wufei were trying to hide smiles as Duo turned to face them.

"I'm gonna kill her…"

Heero walked to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"Is it really that big a deal? I mean, it was just a car."

"I never even got to _drive_ it!"

Heero looked nervous. "Yeah, but you're not really going to kill her, right?"

Duo thought it over and shook his head. "No."

"Oh thank god…"

"Death is too easy for her. I'm thinking I'll alternate between starvation, torture and listening to me sing."

The other boys grimaced at the last method and Trowa and Wufei gave Heero a pitying look.

"It was nice knowing you," and Wufei gave Heero a pat on the shoulder and followed Trowa upstairs.

Heero turned back to Duo and saw he was watching the exchange with interest.

"What'd he mean?"

"Errr…"

O0o00o0o0o0o

"Tell me about the base."

"Which one?"

"The one that is currently wreckage."

Quatre winced and paused to think it over. "Duo… He told us that he overheard some of the men talking about how they had killed all the civilians that were held at that base. He went a little crazy and blew it up."

"That's putting it mildly. What was the original plan?"

"He was supposed to monitor the base, watch their reactions when the other bases blew. We knew the civilians were there and we didn't want them to be in danger if we attacked."

"Was he out there alone?"

"He wasn't supposed to be." Quatre sighed. "Heero was supposed to be with him, but when Sally got back she said she needed Heero's help disabling their communications satellites. I sent her out to get Heero, and I went to send Trowa to help him so he _wouldn't_ be alone. Trowa was almost to the base when it blew."

"How's he handling it?"

Quatre shrugged. "He was upset when he got back, but everyone says he's doing alright, and he doesn't _seem_ like he's any different. I know him though, and it's hard to tell with him. I don't think he's capable of executing something that drastic without some sort of repercussions. Who knows?"

"Have you tried talking with him?"

"As much as I can. I don't have a whole lot of extra time right now." Quatre stood and began pacing in front of Skyfire, causing the old man to smile in amusement. "We need to attack Barge two days from now, at the latest."

The old General nodded his agreement. "Do you think you'll be able to handle it?"

"Yeah, if I can keep my team from killing each other before then."

"I meant you personally. Are you going to stay here like they want you to?"

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know. It depends on what's happening." He rolled his eyes. "Who knows? Maybe they're right. Maybe I _should_ stay here and mastermind the whole thing."

"How are you going to plan an attack on a building you're never seen?"

"I have seen it."

Skyfire's eyebrow shot skyward, clearly telling Quatre to elaborate.

"Kushrenada took me there not too long ago, to tour the layout and learn about its battle strategies. With the spread out design, and the fact that we can't use projectile weapons throughout most of it, we should have the upper hand. That's why I want control of Barge before Dermail arrives. It'll be easier t get it now, and be helpful once he gets here."

"That is true. Surprise is everything. They know there are people out here, people who are against them, but I guarantee you Romafeller doesn't expect an attack on Barge."

Quatre nodded in agreement. "I'm going to go gather everyone so we can begin planning. I want to get their input before I make everything final."

He headed out the door and down the stairs, looking in several rooms before he found Catherine and Sally in the vid-room.

"How is she?"

Both Quatre and Sally looked at the sleeping Catherine, and Sally sighed. "She's doing as well as can be expected. She won't be able to fight, but I was thinking we could use her as a sort of dispatch board. She can help keep tabs on where everyone is, and if necessary, I'm sure she could drive."

"I'm going to meet with the others in a few minutes. Are you going to need to keep an eye on her or will you be able to fight?"

"I'll be there. Who knows what else you boys'll do to hurt yourselves."

Quatre rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Po."

"Hey, no problem."

They exchanged a small smile and Quatre gave Catherine one last look before leaving to find the others.

He finally located Wufei and Trowa downstairs, playing cards in the War Room. Sticking his head in, the two looked up and motioned for him to join them.

"C'mon in, Quatre. I'm just about to beat Wufei."

"You are about to do no such thing, Barton!" Wufei threw his cards on the table. "Beat that."

Trowa tossed down several cards before laying the rest of his on top of Wufei's and the Chinese boy glared. "How do you do that, Barton?"

"Trade secret." He ignored Wufei's glare and turned to Quatre. "What's going on?"

"We need to start planning our attack on Barge." The blonde looked around the room curiously. "Where's Duo?"

The smile on Wufei's face could not mean _anything_ good. "With Heero."

"Where's Heero?"

"Separation of plans, Winner."

Quatre flushed a scary shade of red and glared at Wufei before turning back to Trowa and giving him a warning look.

"They went to get the Hummer."

Trowa watched in interest as Quatre's face ran through several different emotions, finally settling on a mix of fury and disbelief. "We have a fortress to attack and you guys are worried about a car? Un-_fucking_-believable."

Wufei barely spared him a glance. "You sound like Maxwell."

Trowa watched in hidden amusement as Quatre's eyes widened. It was obvious the blonde boy was torn between strangling Wufei now, or just praying he got killed in combat. He chose the latter.

"Don't you have a girlfriend to be entertaining or something?"

_"EX-_girlfriend!" Wufei rolled his eyes. "Why can't anyone ever remember the ex..?"

"I don't care. Go."

"Sheesh," and Wufei walked away, leaving Quatre glaring after him.

"Argh!" Quatre flopped into the chair Wufei had just vacated and buried his face in his hands. "Why is everyone being so difficult? It's not like we're in the middle of a small war or anything!"

"I know." Trowa moved closer and put a comforting arm around Quatre's shoulders. "Everyone's just dealing with the stress in their own way. Duo's blowing stuff up, Heero's losing his cool and Wufei's being a jackass. You know when it comes time to fight, everyone will back you up."

"Not if I kill them before then."

"Don't even worry about them. You're doing a great job, and that's all we need to win."

Quatre tried to ignore the flattery but Trowa's hand was rubbing a soothing circular path across his shoulder. "Why did they leave without telling me?"

"Duo flipped out when he heard Heero and Sally left the Hummer and Heero told him they would go get it. They probably didn't think you'd let them go after it."

"Could that be because I wouldn't have?"

Trowa ignored the sarcasm, continuing to massage the tension out. "It'll be good for Duo to get away, and I'm sure Heero will be able to help after what happened. It may be for the best. Duo wasn't handling it as well as we thought anyway."

Quatre raised his head and glared at the wall. "That's what I tried to tell all of you. Duo went through a huge ordeal. There was no way he was okay."

"I think this'll help. It'll be like a mini-vacation." Trowa was about to say more, but was interrupted as Sally came flying into the room.

"They're moving!"

Both boys gave her a questioning look.

"Romafellar! They're moving through the city. It looks like they've sent out patrol squads to sweep the city. One quad is heading straight for us."

Quatre stood and squared his shoulders, all business once more. "ETA?"

"About five minutes."

They followed her out of the room and out into the main area where Wufei, Meiran and Catherine waited with Skyfire and his soldiers.

"How many of them?"

"At least twenty, possibly more. They're in a convoy, and it's hard to tell how many are in each vehicle."

"Alright. We're down four people, so everyone grab as many weapons as you can carry comfortably, long range and close quarters, and spread out! Catherine, watch the west side. They may try to come at us across the river. Everyone else spread out across the north and east sides. Try to conceal yourselves and only attack when you're sure. We can't afford to waste ammo, and we can't afford to get hurt. Our greatest advantage is surprise. They don't know we're here, and we need to use that." He paused and took a deep breath before adding, "Do not let anyone escape. We can't let word get back to Romafellar of our location."

"When every squad troop returns but one, they'll be able to guess our location."

Quatre looked at Wufei and sighed. "I know."

"Let me deal with these guys. The rest of you go out and fuck up as many of the others as you can. It'll make it look like there are more of us, and it'll help hide our position."

Quatre smiled slightly. "It's nice that you've finally decided to be helpful, Wufei. Are you sure you can handle them?"

"I'll be fine. Like you said, they are not expecting us. Besides…" Wufei gave him a wolf-like smile. "I still have a bit of C4 left from the last mission."

Quatre nodded while Trowa glared. "And you still don't want to share, Chang?"

"Why would I let you guys waste it?"

Quatre intervened before Trowa and Wufei started arguing. "Alright then, Sally. Where are the other squads headed?"

"All around the city. There are two searching by the Academy, one out by the old mall and the rest are sweeping throughout the streets."

""How many total?"

"At least a hundred and twenty, possibly closer to one-fifty."

Quatre exchanged a look with General Noventa. "I like those odds. Wufei will stay here and deal with those. General, will you and your soldiers take the two at the Academy, and the one by the mall? The rest of us will go through town and take out the others."

The cadets and Skyfire nodded, while the soldiers looked at each other sullenly, completely missing the look their General was giving them.

"Men! The boy gave you an order!" They jumped where they stood and saluted Skyfire. "Of course my men and I will do it, won't we lads?" They nodded in agreement while Noventa looked grim. "Move!"

A minute later, there was an outpour of cars from the factory. Quatre led the way as they tried to sneak down a side path, around the approaching enemy. Wufei made himself busy, booby-trapping the road and preparing for his visitors while Meiran stood and watched. Catherine made her way slowly up a tree and found a nice vantage point to guard Wufei's back, flipping a knife idly in her good arm.

Once the rest of them had made their way around the approaching soldiers, they split up, heading toward their destinations, while Quatre spared a wish for the rest of his fighters, just to even the odds a bit.

o0o0o0o0o0o

A/N:: I'm sorry this took so long. My only excuse is work, and even then, I got caught up in perfecting something in the Driver. I'm easily distracted… what can I say. Hope everyone likes it.


	19. Under Pressure

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Nineteen – Under Pressure

o0o0o0o

"Fire in the hole."

Meiran rolled her eyes at Wufei but covered her ears obediently. A loud explosion ripped through the trees, followed by another one. From Wufei's vantage point he could see a small column of fire rising from down the path. He watched it for a moment before Meiran took her hands off her ears and turned to him.

"What now?"

"Clean up."

He unclipped his phone from his pocket and hit a button.

"Catherine. You got a copy?"

"Yeah, Wufei. Go ahead."

"Something's on fire. I'll go down and check everything out. Watch for anyone that gets through."

"Ten-four."

Meiran followed him back down to the ground and straightened out her dress as he looked on.

"Will you hurry? We have to check for survivors."

"Whatever."

He rolled his eyes and started to walk away, not really caring if she was following or not. As he neared the site, he pulled a handgun from its holster and checked that his sword was easily accessible. Peering through a thick spread of brush, he took in the scene before him.

Two Romafellar army vehicles were blocking the small road, both reduced to wreckage. He could see several scorch marks on the ground, indicating where flanking soldiers had stood. When he saw no sign of the enemy, he proceeded slowly through the area, searching for any remaining men. Just as he was about to turn and check the other side, a voice sounded directly behind him.

"Freeze."

Wufei stopped, dropping his gun and raising his arms in the air as he turned to face his captors, but Meiran didn't. He watched in amazement as she threw herself at the men, grabbing the closest one and holding onto him tightly.

"Oh, thank God!"

The man stared down at her in confusion, while the other wavered, unsure who to point the gun at and unwilling to shoot an apparently innocent young girl.

"You saved me! They were…" Meiran burst into tears while Wufei gave her a horrified look. "They were going to hold me hostage and use me for ransom!"

The man she was clinging to gave her an awkward pat on the back as the other watched on. Just as his comrade was about to turn his attention back to Wufei, she brought one knee up, straight into the man's crotch. At his grunt of pain, his friend turned once more, giving Wufei time to grab a small knife out of his belt and throw it. As the second man collapsed, Meiran twisted her victim's neck and let him fall to the ground before once more straightening the front of her dress as if nothing had happened.

Wufei grabbed his gun, giving her one disparaging glance before heading for the other side of the trees.

"Why do you _always_ have to primp at the _worst_ possible time?"

"Who's going to believe I'm a damsel in distress if I look scruffy like you lot?"

o0o0o0o0o0o

"Move."

Quatre whispered one word and there was a flurry of silent action. Trowa and Sally began running quietly through the rubble of the city, trying to pick off as many soldiers as they could without the others noticing. Sally grabbed one man from behind, thrusting a short knife in between his ribs and setting him gently on the ground. Every once in awhile a flash of silver would fly through the air and a uniformed man would go down, a knife buried in him. Sally followed after, checking that each was dead and finishing them if they weren't. Her face was grim, her eyes dark, but she and Trowa knew the job needed to get done.

From his vantage point on top of a partly demolished skyscraper, Quatre watched four of Skyfire's men through high powered binoculars. The swept through the abandoned school, clearing each room before moving to the next, trying to find the soldiers spread throughout.

At least they were following orders. Hopefully the four soldiers near the mall were obeying as well. Quatre counted silently to himself, trying to keep track of how many remained. The odds were slowly moving in their favor, though he wasn't sure how much longer Romafellar would remain oblivious to their pursuers.

O0o0o0o0o

"Attack!"

Trowa swore as the remaining Romafellar General organized his men into squads, worried by the soldiers that hadn't returned. Sally watched silently before giving him a questioning look.

"What now?"

"Split up. Don't let them see you, but continue picking them off."

She nodded and vanished into a shell of a building. Trowa moved slowly forward, keeping his eyes on the now alert enemy. He finally saw an opportunity as one strayed too far from the rest. He leveled a silenced gun, aimed and pulled the trigger, watching as the man dropped where he stood.

Creeping around to his right, Trowa saw a flash of blond pigtails as Sally crept up toward the General. The man began walking off and Trowa lost sight of both Sally and the man, though he heard a soft thump as the man hit the floor. Sally reappeared, breathless and pale but unharmed, and waved at him. He nodded in understanding and she took off back into the maze of buildings.

Just as he was about to blend back into his surroundings, a bullet lodged itself in the wall next to his head and he hit the ground, glancing around wildly. Finally, a flash of green!

He fired through the wall, listening as whoever was behind it scrambled to get away before the soldier popped up and fired twice more. Trowa ran forward, firing rapidly ahead of him and trying to ignore the bullets that were being fired in return. Diving behind a small barricade, he checked his gun and swore mentally. Poking his nose around the corner, he could see a Romafellar hat making its way slowly toward him.

Green eyes cast around desperately for ammo and he swore out loud when he couldn't find any. His assailant's gunfire covered his voice and he waited til the bullets stopped then jumped over the barricade, sprinting toward the older man with the handgun. The soldier raised his gun and three more bullets were fired before he dodged the final hail of bullets from Trowa's gun.

The soldier noticed Trowa's hesitation and moved toward him, undoing the button that secured the belt around at his waist. A smug smile crept over the man's face and his eyes were victorious as he began reaching for another gun.

"What are you going to do now, kid?"

Trowa lunged toward him, swinging his gun and smacking the man soundly in the head. The soldier crumpled, landing hard on the ground. Trowa smirked, running his hands over the man's uniform and grabbing every gun he could find. After checking the ammo, he strapped two to his belt and set the other two aside. Looking down at the unconscious man, he paused, noticing a small black square that had fallen next to him. He grabbed the small handheld radio and clipped it to his belt before picking up the remaining two guns and aiming one at the soldier.

"My apologies," and he fired twice, watching somberly as the man twitched, then stilled. He looked at the man a moment longer before he heard more gunfire from a couple blocks away. Unable to waste any more time on the soldier, he turned and ran in Sally's direction.

Twenty minutes later, Trowa and Sally stood leaning up against a battered wall, silent except for the sound of their breathing. Quatre had radioed two minutes ago to tell them they were finished and now neither wanted to move.

A soft sounded through the rubble and Trowa straightened, watching as Quatre walked down the street toward them, inspecting the scene critically. As he walked up, he gave Sally a cursory glance followed by a pat on the shoulder. She remained silent, as did Trowa, though their silence was broken by shouting.

Quatre watched as General Noventa led his men up, yelling furiously at them the whole way. He gave Skyfire a wary glance, instantly concerned about what could make the General that upset, and Skyfire wasted no time in informing him.

"Numbnuts over here…" He jerked an accusing finger at a miserable looking Trant, "Let one of the soldiers get away."

The boys all watched as Quatre gave Trant a look to rival Heero's, blue eyes narrowing slightly as the man tried to disappear. An invisible weight settled on his already over-burdened shoulders as he contemplated what to do about the runaway. General Noventa continued yelling at his men while Quatre's mind blanked out, unable to think of any way to save the situation. He finally just shrugged and said, "Well, let's get back."

Just as they were preparing to leave, a black car pulled up, driven by none other than Wufei. They all watched as he parked next to Quatre's truck and got out, carrying a gun and a sword as usual.

"What's up guys?"

Quatre heaved a sigh. "Not a whole lot. We were just about to head back. Shouldn't you be watching the base?"

"Nah. The base is secure and Catherine and Meiran are guarding it." He gave Quatre a reassuring look, then paused. "Oh, and I caught some guy in a Romafellar uniform running back towards Barge. I hope he wasn't part of some grand scheme of yours."

Quatre's eyes lit up and Trowa and Sally gave silent sighs of relief. Wufei looked stunned as the blonde threw himself on him, hugging the Chinese boy tightly.

"You are my _hero_."

Wufei looked down at the blonde head and Sally laughed at the cornered look on his face. "Ok…"

Quatre let go of him, holding him at arm's length, still with a huge smile on his face. "Numbnuts over there let him get away. I was afraid he'd tell Tuberov about us."

Wufei's eyes darted briefly to Trant, who glared back defensively. "Why's he got to be talking about me?"

"He said numbnuts didn't he?" and, ignoring the angry look on Trant's face, the cadets and Skyfire began walking to their vehicles.

"So what did you do with him?"

Wufei reddened slightly and Quatre stopped walking to stare at him.

"What did you do?"

Wufei mumbled something unintelligible and Quatre made a big show of looking confused.

"I can't hear you!"

"He's tied up in the trunk."

"Are you serious?"

"Maybe."

Quatre couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice. "Wufei! What the hell am I supposed to do with a hogtied prisoner? Did he see your face?"

"No! I snuck up behind him and knocked him unconscious before I tied him up. He has no idea we're teenagers." Wufei glared at the ground. "I'm not stupid… I put one of the back seats down and since he woke up I've been talking to him through the gap."

Quatre snorted and gave him another clap on the shoulder. "It's okay… You're still my hero…"

The Chinese boy shot him an irritated look. "Shut up, Winner."

"That's Captain Winner to you."

"Whatever."

o0o0o0o0o0o

A/N:: I'm so sorry for the wait. You guys have no idea how much trouble I had with this chapter. Even though I knew exactly what needed to happen I still rewrote it a good fifty times before deeming it merely acceptable. The next one should be out sooner (thought I guess it's easy to improve on more than two weeks...) Again, I'm sorry.


	20. What Comes Next?

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

A/N:: chapter was supposed to be so much longer, but I got a bit stuck so this is what it is… Enjoy.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Twenty – What Comes Next?

o0o0o0o0o

"Umm, guys…" Duo eyed the blade near his neck. "What are you doing?"

Catherine gave him a maniacal grin. "Wufei said not to let anyone in."

"Ok well, I don't think he meant me!" He looked from the still-smiling girls to Heero, who did not look amused. "Besides, you know Yuy hates having a gun pulled on him."

Catherine gave him an innocent look. "It doesn't look like he's in _any_ position to do something about it."

At that moment, the convoy of cars came up the path led by Quatre and Duo groaned.

"I am _never_ going to live this down."

Sure enough, he could hear laughter as his teammates walked toward them, the sound carrying through the twilight. Wufei came into view, nearly doubled over with mirth and even Trowa was laughing loudly. Despite the fact that Meiran was sitting quietly on the side, Catherine had managed to round up Heero and Duo and hold them both captive for several minutes, despite all of Duo's pleas to the contrary.

He glared at her once more as the rest of his teammates stopped in front of him and looked on. Quatre finally decided that Duo had had enough and stepped forward, clearing his throat in an authoritative manner.

"Um, Catherine?"

"Why yes, Quatre?"

Heero's frown deepened at the innocent quality to her voice and Quatre had to fight back laughter once more. "So, this may seem like a dumb question, but what are you doing?"

"Wufei said not to let anyone into the base until you returned."

"Okay…" He smirked, hiding it quickly as Heero glared. "Well, we're back, so can you maybe let them go before they decide to kill you in your sleep?"

Catherine lowered her sword and flicked the safety on her gun, stepping away from Duo and giving him a cheeky grin. "For you blondie… anything."

Duo began muttering obscenities as he stalked past Catherine and into the base before disappearing up the stairs. Heero followed, glowering at Trowa, his sister and everyone in general. Since Wufei was still laughing his ass off, it didn't do a whole lot of good.

Quatre watched the two leave before he turned back to Trowa. "I am so glad Skyfire and his men are still out in the field. Do you know how hard it is to make people take us seriously when we all act like retarded ten year olds?" He switched his gaze to Catherine, who gave him a questioning look. "How are you handling a gun _and_ a sword with your arm like that?"

Catherine gave him a dreamy smile. "Sally has me so hopped up on pain pills I could run headfirst into a brick wall and not even feel it."

Quatre's eyes flicked back to Trowa. "Are both of you criminally insane?"

Trowa shrugged and got back into his car, driving through the front doors and parking in the back by the newly returned Hummer. The others followed, eventually reconvening in the War Room, dressed more comfortably and carrying food. Quatre came down the stairs, literally dragging a protesting Duo in his wake and Heero was not far behind, a sullen look still on his face. Quatre deposited Duo in the chair furthest from the door and pointed at the one next to it for Heero, who obeyed silently. The others were instantly quiet.

"What the hell were you thinking, leaving like that?"

Neither spoke as the rest of their mates tried to blend into the scenery.

"We are in the middle of a war and you're taking vacations to go pick up cars?"

"We didn't want to leave anything to alert Romafeller."

"Bullshit!" Quatre sounded furious. "Is that why neither of you bothered to tell me you were leaving?"

Duo sat up straighter, his shoulders straightening in defiance. "We shot three Romafeller soldiers and two technicians while we were out there. They were standing there staring at the Hummer trying to figure out where it had come from." Quatre paused mid-rant and gave him a dubious look. Duo nodded vigorously, and next to him Heero was also nodding. "We took their radios, and their uniforms. They're in the back of the Hummer."

Quatre sat down at the head of the table, a calm expression on his face. "Well then, I guess it would be unreasonable of me to court-martial you."

"You can't court-martial me! I'm not even technically in the military yet."

"Oh, but I would have tried." Before Duo could argue more, he was interrupted by a muffled shouting noise from the other room.

"What the fuck is that?"

Everyone looked curiously at the door, except for Wufei who was staring at the table with sudden interest and Quatre who was staring pointedly at Wufei.

"Wufei?"

"What?" But Wufei sounded more irritable than innocent.

"You haven't let him out of the trunk yet?"

"What am I supposed to do with him? I figure there's no way he can escape if he's in the trunk."

Duo looked from Wufei to Quatre, a confused look on his face. "Wait, let who out of the trunk?"

"The soldier that Trant let go."

"You have him in the trunk?" Duo was giving Wufei an incredulous look while Heero looked mildly impressed.

Quatre waved a hand, dismissing the entire matter. "Forget about him, we'll deal with him later. Ladies and gentlemen, we are now entering the crucial period in this little war. We have a minimum of three days to attack and seize Barge." He looked out at his teammates, the grim expression on his face mirrored on his teammates'. "That leaves us roughly a day and half to plan, one to attack, and another half day to fully take control of Barge and its facilities. Any questions?"

There was a moment of silence, then Wufei spoke. "Where are Relena and Dorothy, and will they be back in time for Barge?"

"They are currently up at the Air Force Base. Even if we don't have complete control of the bases, we need to at least make sure that Romafellar does not. They should be back soon, and then we can include them in the planning."

Wufei leaned back in his chair looking satisfied and Quatre looked around once more. "Now, Duo, Trowa, would you like to tell us the best points of entry?"

Both boys stood and Trowa placed a rough map of Fortress Barge across the table.

"I would like to start by saying that Romafellar has no clue what they're doing. The guard patrol is ridiculous, and I'm not entirely sure they know how to use the security system. We should be able to sneak in through an air vent or something and open up a side door. I know it sounds ridiculously easy, but it should work."

Duo nodded his agreement. "Once inside, the guards are so spread out that taking one down, if it's done quietly, shouldn't alert anyone else. We should try to hide the bodies, and if you don't already have a uniform, take one. Despite the attacks on the bases, I doubt they're expecting anyone to attack Barge."

Sally raised a finger and Duo looked at her questioningly. "Where's the control room? Won't we have to get in there to activate any of the security defenses?"

"Yes. The control room is underground in the center of the compound. Like Quatre said earlier, projectile weapons are prohibited inside Barge, especially around the computers and such, though in the outer hallways the guards still carry guns. We don't know if Romafellar has even figured out how to get into the control room yet."

"So how do you know we'll be able to?"

Duo shrugged. "I don't. But we'll try."

"Great…"

Quatre rolled his eyes and looked around the table. "If we find Kushrenada and Merquise, they may be able to help."

Trowa shook his head. "They would help but we don't know where they are either."

"So beat it out of one of the soldiers. This isn't a game guys; it's us or them." Quatre looked around the table, briefly meeting everyone's eyes. "The time to be nice has passed. Dermail is on his way and if we're not ready when he gets here, we are screwed."

Everyone nodded in agreement as Duo spoke. "So, me and Trowa get in, let everyone else in. Then we move through the base taking out as many soldiers as we can. Someone finds Merquise and Kushrenada while someone else goes for Tuberov. Once we have him captured, there's a chance that his soldiers will back off, though there's no guarantee of that. We get into the control room, arm Barge, hold everyone captive and wait for Dermail. Any other questions?"

"What's the meaning of life?"

"Funny, Bloom." Duo sneered eloquently. "Any _other_ questions?"

When everyone else shook their heads he gave them a smile. "That's all then."

Trowa stood and looked at Heero. "Come help me look over the papers I copied."

Heero nodded silently and followed him out of the room, followed by Wufei. "Have you made any more progress?"

"I decoded part of the cover sheet. Apparently part of it is the work roster. If we can get the rest of it done, we'll know the odds we're facing at Barge. I'm hoping we'll be done before we leave."

Heero nodded once more and sat in front of a computer. Trowa passed him a sheaf of papers and he set to work. Wufei sat on the floor in between the two, listening passively to their brief conversations and trying to think. It was several hours later when Trowa and Heero faced each other and said at the same time, "Got it."

Wufei listened as they compared numbers and codes and even Heero couldn't stop his smile when they realized that they were nearly done. Just as Trowa was putting the finishing touches on his papers, Duo poked his head in the door and looked over the two of them, his eyes pausing on Trowa who raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"So, how're things with Quatre?"

Trowa shrugged and replied, "Good, I guess." When Duo glared at him, he looked confused. "What?"

"You kissed him!" Accusing purple eyes fixed on Trowa, who squirmed slightly.

"He was getting angry. He wanted to go to the base with me. I didn't know what else to do."

Duo huffed softly. "You were _supposed_ to tell him that Catherine and Relena would be back, and he needed to be there. Not tell him, then kiss him!"

"I did. He told me that they'd be fine alone for a while, he was worried about you." Trowa paused and smiled slightly. "I told him you wouldn't want him risking the whole operation for you, and that I especially didn't want him to be in harm's way. That was when I kissed him." He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "And I'd do it again…" but Duo ignored it, looking to Wufei and Heero for back-up.

He was disappointed however, as Heero was again typing on his laptop and Wufei was either meditating or dead. Regardless, neither was paying attention to the conversation. He turned his fierce gaze back to Trowa, who had grabbed the recently translated papers and been trying to slip toward the door quietly. The tall boy froze and steeled himself as Duo opened his mouth once more.

"Did you mean it?"

One green eye blinked in confusion, the most off balance Duo had seen Trowa in awhile. "Mean what?"

"The Kiss!" Trowa's eyebrows raised at what sounded like a title for the whole fiasco, then he smiled again.

"I think so." A dreamy look passed through his eyes and he completely missed the look Duo gave him.

"You think so? What kind of answer is that?"

Trowa suddenly seemed to regain his composure, smirking and patting the irate boy on the head. "Go drool over Yuy some more." Duo's mouth hung open and he was silent as Trowa's smile widened and he walked out of the room. The only sign that Heero really was paying attention to the conversation was the sudden flush that crept up his neck and stained his cheeks, though his eyes never left the screen.

As Duo stared at the spot that Trowa had just vacated, Wufei's voice sounded through the silence. "We are not boy scouts, Maxwell. You have no time to be practicing pitching tents while there is real fighting to be done." He stood and left the room as Trowa just had, leaving Duo to stare at Heero in confusion.

"Ok, all I got from that was Trowa does not seem to regret molesting Quatre and Wufei wants to pitch a tent with boy scouts." He looked after both of them for a moment. "Neither of which really surprise me…"

Heero looked up from his computer to meet Duo's eyes. "Trowa just smiled three times, four if you count the evil-looking smirk. Have you ever seen him that happy in five minutes?"

"I guess not. I just don't want Q to get hurt."

"Trowa's not that bad." Heero sounded like he felt obligated to point out Trowa's lack of badness even if he really didn't want to argue with Duo.

Duo shrugged and sighed loudly. "Whatever."

"You just don't want to listen to reason."

"Sorry I'm a bit unreasonable when it comes to the few people I care about!"

Heero smiled at the glaring brunette and dropped a brief kiss on his cheek. "You're so cute when you're upset."

"I'm not supposed to be cute. I'm supposed to be intimidating, or frightening… at least imposing. Definitely not cute."

Heero gave him a small smile. "Well all you get is 'cute'."

"Fuck you, Yuy," but Duo was laughing as he said it.

A/N:: Ack… the fluff is killing me. I'm really not good at writing fluff, as I usually feel like I'm smothering myself with it, but I figure Duo deserves a little fluff.


	21. Inside Job

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Twenty-One – Inside Job

o0o0o0o0o

"Alright lad, I'm going to need a vehicle."

A small smile spread across Duo's face. "You know, sir? I think I have just the thing."

General Noventa stared dubiously at the sleek black Hummer in front of him. "What is it?"

"It's a Hummer. The army uses them." An odd look flashed over Duo's face and he choked out, "I thought you were _in_ the army, sir?"

"Eh, in my day we didn't drive fancy vehicles into combat. This thing looks like it'll cry if I go over a bump too fast."

Duo sighed dramatically and held out his hand for the keys. "Well, you could always stay here and tell stories to kids or something…"

Skyfire glared at the braided boy and pulled the keys out of his reach. "Boy, the day that happens is the day I retire to a rocking chair to read obituaries. Out of my way."

Duo smirked as Skyfire got in the vehicle and everyone else followed suit.

Quatre stood in the front door of the old abandoned factory, his eyes dark as he watched Kushrenada's Humvee wind its way down the path followed by the rest of the cadets,

No one could believe that he had willingly agreed to stay at the base while the others left for Barge. Duo had actually started to argue before realizing that Quatre had agreed, and had promptly shut his mouth and given Quatre a suspicious look. There was nothing anyone could say though, since Quatre had simply nodded and told them that he had no intention of leaving with them.

Turning around to walk back inside the building he paused as he saw Catherine standing a few feet away and giving him an odd look.

"What?"

She shook her head slowly. "I have a very hard time believing that you're planning to stay here."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I never said I was planning on staying here. I just said I wasn't going with them." He paused briefly then allowed a small smile to play across his face. "Mostly since I don't think they would have let me go with them."

She stared at him a moment longer then rolled her eyes. "You're worse than Duo sometimes."

"I know," and he gave her a cheeky grin and headed into the other room to begin packing his supplies while she and Meiran looked on in amusement. It was a half an hour later when he finally grabbed the keys from the table and headed toward the already-laden vehicle. As he was getting in, the passenger door opened and Meiran slid in, arranging herself on the seat as he stared at her. Finally, having straightened her dress and set her bag on the floor, she looked up and gave him a small smile.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

"Going with you, obviously." The tone of her voice left no room for argument, even if Quatre had felt up to it.

"Don't think I'll take the blame when Wufei flips out."

"He'll survive."

Quatre shrugged and started the engine, waving briefly at Catherine as she closed the front door behind them.

"Let _me_ pack everything, then try and hitch a ride…"

o0o0o0o0o0o

Duo hummed the Mission Impossible theme song silently in his head as he once again prowled across the outer wall and practically waltzed into Barge.

_Impenetrable fortress, my ass…_

Then, grinning at his last thought, he slid through the shadowed hallway to let Heero in. He opened the door, bowing Heero in with a flourish and causing the Asian boy to glare at him fiercely as he unhooked his thermal sword. Duo ignored it, smacking Heero lightly on the butt before continuing along his designated route, knocking one guard unconscious and leaving him tied up in a deserted office before raising one of the loading dock doors to reveal a patiently waiting Dorothy. The blonde waggled her fingers in a mocking goodbye and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Duo alone. Just as he was about to unhook his scythe and move further into the building his hip vibrated gently. Frowning, he looked around before ducking into another deserted room and pulling out his phone. On the screen flashed a message from Relena, one that caused his frown to deepen.

_03 MIA.__Still outside._

He sent her a quick message telling her that he would be right there then pocketed his phone and hurried to the other side of the compound, dodging Romafellars' scattered guard. Opening the air vent, he slid out into the cold night and pulled his face mask up as Relena snuck over toward him.

"Where is he?"

Relena shrugged and looked around worriedly. "I don't know. He was supposed to let me in first, then head south to let Wufei in. He should have been here a long time ago."

Duo took a deep breath, trying to think of what could have happened to Trowa. "I don't know, but I need to go get Wufei." He paused and his voice was strained as he continued. "We have to continue without him."

Relena nodded, though she didn't look happy about it. "After you."

He pulled his face mask back on and wiggled through the opening, followed shortly by Relena. As they landed silently on the ground below she nodded goodbye and ran off into the dark. Duo watched her leave, wishing that Trowa would sneak up and have some great explanation for why he was late.

When the green eyed boy failed to appear Duo turned, moving further along the halls and disabling an alarm before opening the door for Wufei, who gave him a startled look. Duo shrugged to let him know that he had no idea where Trowa was and the Chinese boy gripped his shoulder in a silent good luck before grabbing his staff and twirling it experimentally as he ran down the hall in the opposite direction. Duo squared his shoulders and turned toward the inside of Barge, drawing his scythe and gripping it tightly, his eyes adjusting to the suddenly darkness around him.

_Showtime._

o0o0o0o0o

Quatre and Meiran were crouched behind a small retainer wall watching as another Romafellar patrol swept through the city streets. Quatre's eyes followed each man as he scanned the area, his eyes reflecting his uncertainty.

Turning to the silent Chinese girl at his side he whispered, "I really shouldn't leave them all out here, but there's not a whole lot I can do."

Before she could respond there was the sound of gunfire and both ducked, crouching and preparing for the oncoming assault. When none came Quatre raised his head, peering over the wall once more. In front of him gunfire flew through the air, aimed, not at him and Meiran, but at Romafellar's soldiers. He looked around, finally locating the shadowed men crouched in the surrounding buildings opening fire on Romafellar. He ran around one of the side buildings and up the hollowed out stairs, searching desperately for the source of the shooter. Breaking into an open observation floor Quatre spotted the large man huddled over a semi automatic and whistled twice, loudly. The figure turned and looked directly at him, his face breaking into a huge smile as he spotted the blonde boy.

"Master Quatre!"

Quatre ran toward the man, sliding to a stop in front of him and throwing his arms around the huge figure.

"Rashid!"

"We came as soon as we could, Master Quatre."

Quatre watched the streets as the Maguanacs rounded up the remaining Romafellar soldiers and began to tie them up.

"As always, you have perfect timing."

"Yeah, me and the boys rolled into town about an hour ago. Spotted these gentlemen poking around in the rubble and figured we'd see what they were up to." The big man grinned as he watched his men complete their tasks and smile at each other. "I figured it wouldn't hurt if they were delayed a bit."

Quatre clapped him on the shoulder in thanks. "I'm on my way to help the others at Barge. You want to help storm the grounds?"

Rashid nodded and grabbed a radio from inside his side pocket. After conferring with his second-in-command, he led Quatre out into the streets where the other men greeted them boisterously. The men's cheers had finally quieted when Abdul pulled Quatre aside.

"You may want to hear what one of them has to say."

Quatre gave him a wary look. "Why? What's he saying?"

He followed Abdul to one of the captives and watched as the big man nudged the soldier. "Go on."

The man gulped, then mustered a defiant look. "Why should I?"

Quatre opened his mouth to reason with him when Abdul nudged him again, this time with the barrel of his gun. "Tell the kid what you told your friend over there." He motioned to an unconscious soldier to their right and the man gulped.

"Right before we left base…" The man swallowed hard, then looked up at Abdul and rushed on. "There was talk that one of the rebels had been captured."

Quatre looked the man over and, deciding that he appeared to be telling the truth, motioned for him to continue. When the man said nothing, he raised his eyebrows. "Well, did they say who it was?"

The man shook his head. "No, but first they said it was a girl, then... then the man said, 'Holy shit boys, it's a boy." The man sounded confused, like he wasn't sure that the information he was spouting was useful, but was hoping it was enough to keep him alive.

Quatre sighed inwardly and exchanged a look with Rashid, who had followed them just after Abdul pulled him aside.

Duo.

"Change of plans, Rashid. When we get to Barge, Abdul, you'll take half the men and keep some of the soldiers busy outside. Rashid, you and I will lead the rest and go find Duo."

Both men nodded and Quatre sighed once more. "Let's roll."

They began the short journey up to Barge, nearing the base just as the sun rose over the distant hills.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Wufei readjusted his mask and attempted to cool down briefly. He had been inside Barge for at least an hour and a half and his suit and mask were getting _hot_. Just as he was beginning to cool, he heard shuffling noises from outside. Readjusting his gear, he grabbed his staff and snuck out of the room, suddenly appearing behind the two men. Sending up a silent apology for sneaking up on them, he brought the staff down hard on one of their heads. He dropped as the other turned in surprise, reaching for his gun. Wufei turned his staff, ramming it into the second man's stomach as more running sounded behind him. As the second soldier doubled over in pain Wufei spun, hitting the third man in the head before turning once more, activating the thermal trident as he thrust the weapon forward. The first soldier dropped as Wufei withdrew the glowing blade and moved smoothly to slash at the final soldier rushing toward him. He hit the button once more and the blade disappeared as he beat the fourth soldier soundly in the stomach, knees and head, then reactivated it to slit his throat. He bowed once before dragging them into a nearby storage closet. He couldn't do much for the blood on the ground but at least no one would trip over the bodies… He gave them one final apology for the unceremonious dumping of their bodies then continued down the hall, combing it for anyone else he could fight.

He crept around a turn and froze as a shadow moved across the hall and vanished. After readjusting his grip on his staff and checking his mask, he moved forward once more. He listened for another moment and, hearing nothing, lunged around the corner, swinging his staff swiftly through the air. His assailant ducked and swung back at him and they traded a few quick blows before pausing mid-attack.

"Dorothy?"

"Chang."

They stared at each other for a moment then, before Dorothy could make some biting comment at the expense of his manhood, Wufei offered her his arm in a move Kushrenada would have been proud of.

"Shall we?"

She smirked and laid one hand mockingly on his extended arm.

"Certainly."

o0o0o0o0o

A/N:: So, while I did get quite a bit done on this story, I have been slacking a bit. Well not entirely. I've been writing, but mostly a new fic that I swore I wouldn't start until FoF is done, yet still I work on it. Inspirations a bitch when you have previous commitments.

And just in case anyone cares, I'm a bit stuck on the Driver. I am trying, but it is not flowing like I want it to. There for, I am still trying.


	22. The Fortress Barge

Disclaimer- see Ch. 1

Warnings – shounen-ai, war themes, language, slightly OOCness, AU, movie quotes (yes I'm serious, that requires a warning…), Relena's not exactly a pacifist anymore.

Fight or Flight

Chapter Twenty-Two – The Fortress Barge

o0o0o0o

Quatre watched as Abdul led half of the Maguanacs around the outer premises of Barge, preparing to launch an attack on the outer walls. They had reconnected with Skyfire and half of his small crew, who had instantly volunteered to help. Rashid stood beside him, dressed this time for close quarters battle and the rest of the Maguanacs spread behind them, all looking ready. The blonde surveyed the area, his eyes finally landing on a small building on the outer limits of the area, one that supposedly housed the security booth for the triggers throughout the woods surrounding Barge. He beckoned to Rashid, pointing to the building and signing for his men to follow him.

One of Rashid's massive feet slammed into the door and it flew open with a resounding bang, startling the two soldiers inside. Quatre followed him in, both with guns drawn, and Rashid grabbed the younger soldier, hauling him away from his partner and pointing his gun at him.

"Don't move."

Quatre put his gun away, drawing his kamis and pressing the buttons, a grim smile spreading across his face as the larger soldier paled. A gleaming blade was placed on either side of the man's neck, his fear of decapitating himself holding him immobile.

"You have my best friend somewhere and you're going to tell me where, or I will get the answer from your severed head."

The soldier swallowed loudly, unwilling to talk with the glowing blades so close to his neck. Quatre moved them back the slightest bit before nodding at Rashid. The large man cocked back the safety on his gun, the metal making an audible click in the silent room. His captive made a small groaning sound and Quatre's soldier almost turned his head to look, remembering his captor at the last moment.

Quatre looked from one to the other, a deadly gleam in his eye. "I only need one of you to tell me."

The younger soldier raised his chin defiantly and Rashid raised his gun, aiming at the center of the man's forehead. Quatre was about to give a sigh of regret when _his_ hostage spoke.

"Knell…" His voice sounded weary. "Don't be so stubborn. If we tell them how to get the kid, we can get out of this godforsaken place." His partner hesitated, looking uncertain and the older man gave him a look. "_Knell_…" He looked up slowly, trying to see Quatre who was still behind him. "He's in the outer buildings. There's a series of metal overhead doors, looks like storage or something. They're actually reinforced detention cells. He should be in the second one." The old man heaved a sigh of relief as Quatre slowly lowered his blades, turning them off and slinging them onto his back once more.

"How do we get in?"

The old soldier looked from Quatre to his partner. "The control room is on the north wall. I don't have access codes, though…"

Three pairs of eyes and one gun bore holes into the young soldier, who paused.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Duo was bored.

It was better than dead, but still. He had searched the entire room over and found a total of zero ways out. The only exit was the huge metal door, and there were no controls in the room. He looked at the far wall, where the pile of guards was and frowned. Now all he had to do was find a way out of the stupid room and Shinigami would be back in business…

He gave a dejected sigh. What the hell was the point of getting rid of the guards if he was still stuck in the fucking cell? He looked at his phone, recovered from the guard that had stolen it and _laughed_ at it, his frown deepening due to both the time and the pinkness.

Normally he didn't do the whole damsel in distress thing, but Heero was _so_ not getting any if he didn't rescue him soon…

Suddenly the large gate began to rise and the sun cracked through the bottom. The room was cast into sudden light revealing a silhouette standing heroically before him before Quatre stepped forward out of the sun and was instantly recognizable. His kamis were hooked on his back, out of the way but within easy reach, and he had acquired a pair of aviator's goggles from one of his men. Behind him stood forty, large Arab men, all carrying various weapons and all with grim looks on their faces. In the open field behind him, Duo could see more of Quatre's soldiers driving by in tanks, all with the WEI corporate logo on the side of the gun turret. Loud explosions sounded as they battered the outside of Barge and Duo could hear men yelling orders and returning fire.

"Your father has a private jet _and_ tanks? Your dad rocks, Q."

Duo hurried out of the room, desperate to be free, and he grinned as he caught sight of Rashid standing just outside the door.

"Hey, big guy!" Duo gave Rashid a huge smile as he took in the military gear and weapons that Quatre's assistant was wearing. "You never told me you were a highly trained mercenary…"

"Very funny, Duo. You know better than to tell you friends all your secrets," Rashid's smile belied his harsh words, "yet you begrudge me and Master Quatre a few of our own..?"

"An army made up of huge Arab guys is hardly a 'few' secrets. There've got to be at least eighty of you."

Rashid shrugged and handed Duo his scythe. "Don't know what you're talking about…"

Skyfire went flying by one of the tanks in the Hummer, engine roaring and dirt sailing through the air. The windows were down and everyone could see the huge grin on the old man's face, accompanied by occasional maniacal laughing. They all paused briefly to admire how badass the General looked.

"Duo, I want a hummer," Quatre whined.

Duo smirked and looked back at him. "You're going to have to talk to Trowa about that. I'm taken."

Quatre turned bright red and glared. "You know that's not what I meant!"

"Uh-huh… sure." He grinned at Quatre's discomfort. "It's fine Q. I know it's hard to resist this sexy ass."

Quatre rolled his eyes and grabbed Duo's braid to drag him away. "Let's go find the others."

Duo led them to his trusty air vent and ushered Quatre and Meiran in, leading them along the roof and into one of the larger control rooms. There was a single soldier inside, sitting in front of a panel and rising occasionally to pace the length of the room. Duo let out a low chuckle, one so soft the soldier barely even twitched, though it was followed with a much louder one. The man froze, looking up into the dark apprehensively as Duo rustled his clothes a bit.

The soldier edged toward the door slowly, his trembling hands making the gun clasped in them rattle loudly. He then heard a soft steady breathing and turned quickly, finally managing to utter a timid, "Who's there?"

A mocking voice replied, "Your worst nightmare…" and a scythe flashed through the air.

"Duo, that was horrible!" Quatre's whispered voice sounded appalled.

"What?"

"'Your worst nightmare'? What are you, Batman? Be glad Wufei was not here to hear that."

"Shut up, Q…" Duo grumbled softly then began glaring as Quatre shushed him. The blonde dropped silently to the ground and stuck a head out into the corridor then grabbed Duo by the braid, dragging him after him.Meiran followed with an amused look on her face, though she said nothing. They prowled the halls, trying to find any sign of the others all the while knowing it would be hard.

It wasn't until Duo slid on a hidden patch of blood that they found they were headed in somewhat the right direction. Their second clue was a shout.

"Get him!"

They exchanged a quick look and hurried in the direction of the noise. When they rounded the corner it took them a moment to realize what was happening. What appeared to be a full squad of guards had somehow cornered Heero in one of the hallways and the body count surrounding the Asian boy was evidence of how long he'd been trying to get away. As the three watched he spun, sword flashing as it ran another man through. He pivoted on one foot, changing directions to kick the man trying to come at him behind before swinging the sword through the air once more. The only problem, as far as Duo and Quatre could see, was that once he killed one, two more were there to take the fallen man's place.

Quatre sighed and looked over at Duo. "Do I have to save everyone?"

Duo sneered and drew his scythe, eyes darkening as he watched Heero trying to hold them off. Quatre grabbed his kamis and they both activated the weapons, sneaking toward the group as quickly as they could. In a matter of minutes all three boys stood still, breathing heavily but otherwise unharmed as Meiran watched.

Duo gave Heero a cheery grin and asked, "Who's the hero now?"

Heero simply rolled his eyes and smacked the braided boy upside the head.

"Should we hide them?"

Quatre took a quick look around before shaking his head. "We don't have time. We need to get into the control center, and we still need to find Kushrenada and Merquise. Leave 'em. This passage should take us to the inner wall. Then we just have to find out how to get into the rooms."

"Where are the others?" Duo looked at Heero questioningly, knowing he was the only one who might know.

"I passed Wufei and Dorothy maybe half an hour ago, headed toward the inside. I haven't seen Relena or Trowa."

Quatre started to speak then took one look at the pained expression on Duo's face and glared at him.

"Spit it out."

He took a deep breath. "Right after I let Dorothy in, I got a message from Relena. She said that Trowa still hadn't let her in. I let her in then went and got Wufei, but we still don't know where Trowa is."

Quatre winced, clearly upset. Then his eyes hardened and he straightened his shoulders. "I hate to say it but we really can't worry about him right now." He looked from Duo to Heero to Meiran, clearly asking them if they agreed. When none of them argued he took another deep breath.

"Let's go."

After fighting their way through several small pockets of guards, they finally broke out into a large, circular outdoor courtyard. Standing inside were Wufei and Dorothy and as they watched Relena entered warily from the other side, gun first. They finally convened on the far wall, trying to shelter themselves as they worked out a plan. After several minutes of hushed discussion, Quatre called for silence.

"We have to somehow get into that area."

Duo took one look at the reinforced doors and smirked, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he said, "Oh yeah; no problemo…"

Dorothy snickered as Quatre glared at Duo.

"This is hardly the right time for jokes."

Duo sobered, his face pale and drawn. "I joke because my mind cannot comprehend the fact that Trowa might be dead! I keep expecting him to walk through the door, a little dusty but very much alive."

Duo turned and pointed dramatically at the nearest door just as Trowa walked through it, causing the others to turn and stare at him. Quatre's face turned pale and Duo was afraid that the blonde was going to faint. Instead, he walked swiftly toward the taller boy, grabbed him and pulled his head down. The others stared as Trowa kissed him back, the two completely oblivious to the others presence and as soon as they pulled apart, Duo threw his arms out and began toward Quatre.

"Sweetie? Where's my kiss?" Trowa put one long arm out, pushing Duo back and grabbing Quatre once more. As they began making out again, Duo grabbed Heero, smirking as they walked away. "It's about fucking _time_."

Trowa finally pulled away from Quatre, a smug smile on his face while the blonde looked dazed.

"By the way, I found out where Kushrenada and Merquise are," and he moved to go kiss Quatre again. Wufei grabbed his shoulder, pulling his head around until he was facing him.

"Not so fast, lover-boy. Where are Kushrenada and Merquise? Tell me that, then you can molest the blonde."

"Take this corridor 'til it dead ends, go left. Second hallway on your right, the two doors on the left. Kushrenada is in the first one."

Wufei repeated the directions and, when Trowa nodded, let him go and turned away, ignoring the two as they started making out again.

"So Maxwell, you'll go get Kushrenada and Merquise and bring them out here so we can come up with a plan. Yuy and I will watch the retards." He jerked a finger behind him at Quatre and Trowa, who ignored them.

Duo saluted Wufei and lowered his voice dramatically. "_I'll be_ _bahck_"

Heero rolled his eyes and muttered, "Thanks for the warning," as Duo started in the direction Trowa had indicated, taking the time to pause in front of Quatre and Trowa.

"There's a war going on here!"

They broke apart, somehow looking guilty yet unrepentant at the same time. Just as Trowa was about to respond, a flash of movement shone briefly in the light and Meiran looked up. No one else moved, but everyone stared as the tiny Asian girl who, until now, had only been seen sipping tea serenely or talking with Wufei, hiked up her skirt and spun around in one smooth motion, kicking one knife out of the air and reaching up to grab the second one that flew toward Wufei. Trowa was the next to act, spinning and throwing several knives in that direction. Two soft thuds sounded and Dorothy and Duo rushed into the dark rooms to grab the fallen enemies. When they returned with two bound soldiers, Dorothy's male, Duo's female, they left them in Heero's care in a small office in one of the hallways, newly named Interrogation Room, and joined Quatre back outside.

He stood in front of Meiran and Wufei, arms crossed with Trowa and Relena flanking him. All three glared at Wufei, who was trying not to fidget.

"So, why wasn't it necessary for me to know that she can catch knives out of the air? Does she only gain these powers when you're the one being threatened?"

Wufei squirmed, but met Quatre's gaze. "I didn't want to drag her into this. It isn't her war."

"Well, she's stranded in this country until there's some sort of resolution, so I'd say this just became her war."

Meiran looked miserable. "I am sorry I did not tell you. It goes against our custom to tell foreigners secrets. No one is supposed to know that the ladies-in-waiting are trained."

Quatre nodded, still unhappy but able to see where she was coming from. "Anyone have anything else they'd like to share?" There was a pause and everyone started talking at once

"My favorite color's black."

"I sing Christmas carols in my sleep."

"I accidentally hit Kushrenada's dog during evasive driving class." Everyone stared at Relena, who blushed slightly. "It was an accident…"

Before Duo could make a smart-ass comment a bullet buried itself in the wall behind Quatre and they ducked, trying to return fire on enemies they couldn't find. Quatre glanced around, searching for Duo.

The braided boy's voice was accusing as he shouted, "I thought you said they couldn't use projectiles!"

"That's once we get through those doors," Quatre yelled, pointing to the door Duo had said would be no problem. "Go get Kushrenada and Merquise. It looks like we're going to have to fight our way in."

Duo nodded in understanding and darted off down the hall.

He ran down the deserted hallways of Barge, searching for the rooms that held Kushrenada and Merquise. He slid to a stop, looking left before darting to the right and breaking into a run again. He finally found the locked door that held Kushrenada and pounded loudly on it.

"General, sir! Stand back!" He grabbed his scythe and activated it, inserting it delicately into the lock. The door swung open to reveal General Kushrenada standing on the other side looking mildly impressed. Duo saluted quickly and threw the General a laser rifle and a sword.

Kushrenada followed him out of the room and Duo pointed down the hallway. "Go back out that way, make your second right and follow it until you hear stuff exploding. I'll go get Lieutenant Merquise."

Treize nodded and ran down the hall while Duo continued in his original direction. He went up to the second locked door and looked at it critically. The scythe flashed once more and he was able to kick the door open. Hearing footsteps in the hallway behind him, he slid through the door and closed it quietly behind him, heaving a sigh of relief when Lieutenant Merquise stood up and smiled.

"Congratulations, Cadet Maxwell. You've passed your final exam."

Duo stared at him. "You _must_ be joking…"

"I am." The Lieutenant's smile widened. "But rest assured, if we make it out of this alive, you have passed with flying colors."

"With all due respect sir, I _will_ leave your ass here. Don't think I won't."

He shook his head as he poked it out the door searching for any sign of the footsteps he had heard. The area was once more deserted and he motioned for Lieutenant Merquise to follow him. As he led the Lieutenant down the dark corridor he heard Zechs chuckle softly. "Ahh, the look on your face was priceless."

They ran out the path Treize had just taken, finally finding the General on the outskirts of the small battle. Merquise ran to support him holding off the soldiers who were trying to attack from another hallway and Duo headed toward Relena and Quatre. Fighting his way toward them, he finally reached Relena and muttered, "Your brother is a smart-ass."

She spared him a glance and a wry smile. "Tell me something I don't know. What'd he do this time?"

"When I found him, he made it sound like this whole war was a final exam for the Academy."

She glanced around skeptically. "I doubt even my brother could commandeer the Fortress for a school final. Maybe an army base or something, but not Fortress Barge."

She was interrupted by more gunshots and they split and ran, each heading deeper into the compound. Quatre found himself stuck running around the far side with Relena, neither able to spot any good place to hide. As a bullet came particularly close to Relena she winced and looked at Quatre, still sprinting beside her.

"Hey Quatre!" He looked over, his face pained with the effort of maintaining a full sprint in full gear but he kept looking at her.

"What?"

"There's something I should tell you, in case we die."

He rolled his eyes, a difficult task as he continued running full speed across the nearly deserted courtyard.

"What?"

"Well…" Relena sounded like she really didn't want to continue. "I… My last name isn't really Dorlian."

"So?"

"It's Peacecraft."

Quatre abruptly stopped running and stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. "You're a princess?"

He was cut off as she spun back around and grabbed him, dragging him behind a small steel barricade to avoid the guards chasing them.

"Yeah." Relena had to shout to be heard over the gunfire. She checked her handguns then swung around the corner, unloading both clips before ducking back by Quatre. "Can't you tell?"

"Why can't I have normal soldiers? No, I get a clan heir for my explosives expert, the enemy's granddaughter for my intel, and a fucking _princess_ who thinks she's Lara Croft!"

Relena pouted slightly as she pulled the pin out of a hand grenade and chucked it over the barricade. "That was Duo's"—BOOM—"comparison, not mine." She covered her head as shrapnel rained down on them. "I would have chosen one of Charlie's Angels."

"Well _excuse me_, Princess."

"Please, your highness is fine."

"Don't make me sacrifice you for the greater good!"

"Okay…sheesh."

"You couldn't have told me this when I asked if anyone had anything else to tell me?"

"No, you asked if anyone had anything they'd _like_ to share. Why would I want to share that? I would have had to sit home and do needlepoint while you all got to fight."

"You are crazy as hell. Has anyone informed you of that?"

Her answer was lost as he pulled his gun and shot several rounds through the wall, listening for any sound. When he heard several grunts of pain, he motioned for Relena to follow him and both sprinted through an open door, pulling it shut behind them and stopping abruptly as they looked around. They were in a large, white room filled with computers, the silence unnerving after the commotion outside.

"Holy…"

* * *

A/N:: I had to break it in half, it was getting out of control. Therefore, I stick by my argument that the rest of the present for snowdragon is in the next chapter as well. (For any one who happens to be interested, boys will be making out in the next chapter…) but you guys don't care about that, do you? He he…

I will try and be quicker with the next update. Insert weak laughter... Note my complete lack of promises though. I'm horrible, really I am.


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